


Total Drama Neibolt

by agrajag



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), Total Drama (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Crossover, Epilepsy Warning, Facing Fears, First Kiss, Homophobic Language, Horror, M/M, POV Alternating, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23305405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agrajag/pseuds/agrajag
Summary: [H]is therapisthadsuggested inversion therapy, and Eddie was never one to half ass things. Of course, he might have skipped over full ass-ing it and went straight to jumping in head first when he signed up for [the summer camp competition reality show], but he hadn't been thinking about that. He had been thinking about the added joy knowing his mother would somehow find out about the show and be fuming at home as she watched.His pettiness outweighed any critical thinking. Always.Plus, therewasa $50,000 prize if he actually won.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 40
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> yeah, i literally have no explanation for this other than richie/eddie are totally duncan/courtney
> 
> epilepsy warning is for a TV static gif that is used to indicate that eddie is in the confessional booth

Eddie could think of at least ten things off the top of his head that he would rather do than spend the next couple of months at a summer camp on a remote island. Donate blood, despite the possibility of cross contamination, for one. Or have dinner at an all you can eat buffet, which even thinking about that caused him to gag. But they were all temporary discomfort. Summer camp meant two whole months stranded on said island with bugs everywhere, unsafe food practices, filthy showers, and cameras constantly in his face.

Oh yeah, because he hadn't signed up for an ordinary summer camp. No, he had signed up for a ridiculous competition reality show summer camp because it was the one thing he could think of that would piss his mother off the most. More so than donating blood or an all you can eat buffet. Those were _here_ hangs up -- not his.

Since he had left home, he had worked on unlearning all the unhealthy behaviors she had instilled in him, as his therapist would say.

That didn't mean he magically was alright with a dirty, dingy camp. He cringed every time he thought about it, but his therapist _had_ suggested inversion therapy, and Eddie was never one to half ass things. Of course, he might have skipped over full ass-ing it and went straight to jumping in head first when he signed up for a two month commitment, but he hadn't been thinking about that. He had been thinking about the added joy knowing his mother would somehow find out about the show and be fuming at home as she watched.

His pettiness outweighed any critical thinking. Always.

Plus, there _was_ a $50,000 prize if he actually won.

He was working on getting his license so he could start up his limousine business, so the money would be more than helpful.

So he packed everything he could think of that he might need on a remote island, which ended up being four suitcases and a carry on bag, and left for the dock before he could change his mind.

Not like he could. He _had_ signed a contract after all.

He found it a little strange that all the contestants were arriving individually, but he supposed the producers wanted to get all of their introductions on camera. He had wanted to meet them all before the cameras began rolling because he was sure several of them were going to put on an act once the show officially started. It wasn't like he was doing this to make friends. Quite the opposite actually. It was just that knowing his fellow competitors would help with strategy.

As if the universe wanted to mock him, he was the first to arrive. Other than the crew, naturally. Eddie barely had one foot off the ship when a camera was shoved in his face. A man wearing too much khaki for how much product he had in his hair popped up out of nowhere and started talking a mile a minute.

"Our first contestant has arrived! Obsessed with winning the $50,000, but not as obsessed as he is with cars, we have Eddie Kaspbrak. Which both obsessions are hard to believe considering he is a major germaphobe. You do know how many germs are on cold, hard cash, right dude? Ooh, look at that glare! Easy partner. You should be happy you're here!"

"Who the hell are you?" Eddie asked.

"Uh, I'm Chris McLean?" the man said, like Eddie was supposed to know who that was. "Beloved actor? Star of such hits as Greatminton?" Eddie shook his head. "The host of the show your on right now?"

"Oh, well that makes sense."

Chris turned to the camera, and spoke to it directly, as if it were a person.

"Wow. How uncultured."

"Uh, I'm right here," Eddie said, hand finding its way to his waist. "I can hear you, you know."

Chris ignored him, and Eddie was about to give him a piece of his mind, but the ship had arrived from the main land once more, announcing the arrival of the next contestant. The guy who stepped off of the ship was dressed completely inappropriately, with lots of black and even a spiked dog collar, and Eddie couldn't help but scoff. One of the cameramen zoomed in on him at that, and Eddie quickly schooled his face back into what he hoped was a distant look of impassiveness.

"Oh, look out! We've got a bad boy," Chris said. "Richie Tozier will fit right in on Total Drama Island since he's used to close quarters in juvie. Thankfully, he's stayed on the law's good side the past few years. Sort of. Bet you could use the money to pay off some fines, huh?"

"Oh, shut up," Richie said, sticking his tongue out, and good Lord.

Was that a tongue ring?

"Hey there cutie," Richie said, siding up next to Eddie.

"Excuse me?"

Eddie couldn't decide if he should be flattered that Richie thought he was cute or be offended at how presumptuous he was.

"You're excused," Richie replied, and Eddie landed on offended.

He would later (much later when the show aired) see that he literally had turned his nose up as he crossed his arms and turned away from Richie. The asshole at least looked a little disappointed, but soon Eddie learned his natural state was scowling, that was when he wasn't leering at him, so he couldn't be sure how affected Richie truly was. 

Not like he cared if Richie was disappointed or not.

The rest of the contestants arrived in short order, with Chris giving each of them a ridiculous, and usually slightly insulting, introduction -- 'Aspiring writer, emphasis on aspiring, Bill Denbrough' to 'home schooled weirdo Henry Bowers.' -- until all eight contestants were gathered on the dock.

"And there we have our cast of Total Drama Island," Chris announced. "And the drama starts... now!"

"Wait. Don't we get to see our cabins and unpack first?" Ben, one of the other contestants, asked.

"Nope," Chris replied, looking far too pleased with himself. "You will get to see the cabins for a moment, if that makes you happy. But only so you can change into your swim suits for your first challenge."

"What?" all the contestants yelled at once.

Chris chuckled.

"Yeah. I'd get going if I were you."

The eight of them grabbed whichever of their bags had their swimwear and abandoned the rest as they went running in what they hoped was the right direction. Eddie's suitcase kept banging against his leg, and he just knew there was going to be a huge bruise. He was pissed at first, but then he realized it would be visible once he changed into his swim trunks. His mother would see and blow her gasket.

Eddie smiled.

Well, more like smirked. He _did_ feel particularly evil in that moment.

Thankfully, Eddie could see the cabins in the distance, and he wasn't going to have to suffer for much longer.

Years of running track, against his mother's wishes of course, meant he had a pretty decent lead. But just as he was in the home stretch, Richie and his freakishly long legs pulled ahead. Chris hadn't said there would be any advantage rewarded to the first to change, but like hell was Eddie going to let _Richie_ of all people beat him.

He mustered all the strength he could, running past Richie once more, and burst through the door to the cabin. He dropped his suitcase and fell forward, hands resting on his thighs, as he tried to catch his breath.

God, he couldn't remember the last time he had run like that. And without stretching first? He was going to be feeling it later.

Richie skidded to a half next to him and promptly dropped to the ground.

"I thought you'd already be down to your skivvies by now, babe," he said, despite his panting.

"Babe?!" Eddie asked. "Look, I don't know who you think you are..."

At that moment, Bev and Mike came running in, and Mike had already stripped his shirt off.

Oh, that wouldn't do.

"I expect you to face the wall," Eddie said to Richie, and then dug through his suitcase for his swim trunks.

Eddie got changed fast enough that when he turned around, he caught Richie staring as he fumbled with the string of his own trunks.

"Oh my God, you perv!"

"Who's a perv?" Stan asked as he ran into the cabin, Ben, Bill, and Henry all following close behind.

"Who cares?" Mike replied, before Eddie could start ranting, and then he was right back out the door.

No, Eddie couldn't have that.

He ignored both Stan and Richie calling after him as he ran after Mike. They both made it to Chris at the same time, shoving at each other as they argued about who should get the reward for getting changed first.

"Neither of you," Chris said, effectively shutting them up. "I just told you to hurry up because I want to get this over with it."

"Why you lying, devious..."

Eddie started advancing on the smug host, but Mike reached out and held him back.

"Hey Eddie, it's not worth it," he said. "Let's just... take the time to catch our breath."

Eddie sighed in defeat, causing his bangs to fly up.

"Cute," someone whispered from behind him, and Eddie yelped as he jumped at least a foot into the air.

Of course it was stupid Richie, in his stupid skill print swim trunks, smiling his stupid smile.

"Is this how you're going to ham it up for the cameras?" Eddie asked him.

"Hey, enough chitter chatter," Chris said, clapping his hands. "Everyone's here now, so for the first part of your first challenge. You guys are going to climb up this cliff and dive off of it. There's a bulls eye marked off below, and your scores will be used to determine the order in which you'll go for the second half of the challenge."

"I'm sorry. We're going to do what?" Bev asked, instinctively crossing her arms and covering her chest.

"I know you heard me."

"You just had us run at least two miles," Stan pointed out. "You can't make us climb a cliff immediately afterward."

"And then jump," Bev added.

"If you guys keep complaining, I'll have to... Actually, never mind. I'm going to do it anyway." Chris motioned to one of the crew members and whispered something to her. She jogged away from them, heading to the beach. "Alright. Now you'll be diving into shark infested waters. Anybody want to complain more?"

The eight of them were silent.

"That's what I thought. Alright. Let's go."

The contestants started climbing the cliff, only to have Chris and one of the cameraman go speeding by them on a golf cart.

"I'm going to kill him," Henry muttered under his breath.

Eddie hated Chris too, but he was surprised by the sincerity in Henry's voice.

"Wow, that guy _is_ a weirdo," Richie said to Eddie.

Eddie simply started walking faster in lieu of a reply.

"Oh, c'mon baby. Don't ignore me."

"I am _not_ your baby," Eddie said, not even justifying Richie with a look over his shoulder.

"Are you two going to be like this the whole time?" Bill asked.

"He better not," Eddie said as Richie shouted, "Yes!"

There was some more bickering as they climbed but they were mostly quiet. Eddie was sure everyone else was starting to feel the effect of all the exhortation as well. And to think they were going to have to dive off the cliff after all of this. Eddie was a relatively athletic person, but he wasn't' sure if he was going to be able to handle it.

Richie was probably going to snap like a twig.

Perhaps that would get him voted off first and Eddie would be free.

He could only hope.

"Aw, you guys are starting to look tired," Chris taunted as the contestants dragged themselves the last few steps to the top of the cliff. "Too bad it's right to the jumping. Highest scores go to those who can get right into the bulls eye... which also happens to be the only place that's shark free. So, I'd aim as best as I could if I were you. Do we have any volunteers to go first?"

Everyone was quiet, knowing that to volunteer would look good for them, but terrified of what was below them.

Finally, after moments of no one making a peep, Mike stepped forward.

"I'll do it," he said, sounding braver then he really had any right to be.

Chris motioned for him to go ahead, and Mike carefully approached the edge. He glanced over and jumped back in surprise. The sharks? Whatever it was, he took a deep breath, and then just went for it. He took a few steps back, went running, and dived off the edge. Eddie could hear him yelling the entire way down, and then a splash.

"Oh, nice," Chris said with a chuckle. "Mike has made it into the bulls eye. We're off to a good, albeit not as entertaining as it could be, start. Who wants to try their luck next?"

God, Eddie really didn't want to, but $50,000 was a really enticing incentive.

"I'll go," he said.

"Well, it was nice knowing you doll face," Richie said.

Eddie punched his shoulder as he walked past the annoying punk.

Now, he hadn't done the 'field' part of track and field, but he knew that Mike had the right idea. He stopped when he felt he was close enough for a good running start and then stood there for a moment, saying a quick prayer. Then he thought about his mother screaming until he was red in the face as she watched him falling over the edge of the cliff, and he was suddenly much more motivated. He ran and poised himself in a diving position as he started to fall. He was sure he must have been yelling just as loud as Mike had been, but he was so terrified that he couldn't tell. As he got closer to the water, he tried to aim so that he would make it in the center, but he wasn't sure if he had made it once he hit the water. It fucking stung like a son of a bitch, and now not only did he have a bruise the size of a continent on his leg, his skin was going to be as red as his mother's face.

He was starting to think that being petty wasn't the right way to live his life.

He popped up out of the water, gasping for breath. Mike was standing on the beach and was cheering. Did that mean he made it?

Oh shit. The sharks. Eddie shut his eyes tightly and braced himself for the first bite --

\-- which never came.

Yes! He fucking made it!

He swam over to shore and joined Mike on the beach.

"Congratulations, man!" he said, giving Eddie a hug. "Perfect score twins!"

"Yeah! I'd like to see any of the others pull that off," Eddie said, getting caught up in the moment. Mike wasn't his friend, but maybe they could... "Form an alliance."

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing. Hey, looks like the next person is diving."

It was Richie, and while he didn't make it into the bulls eye, he was close enough that the sharks only nibbled on him slightly.

"Impressed babe?" he asked as he swam over to join Eddie and Mike.

"No," Eddie huffed as Mike laughed at them.

Ben was next, and although he didn't seem scared like the rest of them, his aim was off. He still landed within the circle, but just, and was bit several times before he made it to the beach. Henry did even worse, pulling himself up on the sand with a shark still attached to his foot.

"Oh, that's going to leave a mark," Richie said with a wince.

Eddie could tell it wasn't meant to be malicious, but Henry was already on the defensive. He snarled at Richie as he stumbled toward him.

"Shut up you f---"

Well, Eddie didn't have to hear the rest of the word to know what Henry was saying. He had heard it directed at himself more than enough growing up in his small, closed minded town. Thankfully, he wasn't subjected to it anyway, because Richie was yelling as he tried to punch the asshole, but Mike and Ben were holding him back.

That wasn't to say they were alright with it, thank God. Ben's grip on Richie honestly was just for show and Mike looked furious as he shouted to one of the cameramen, "You're just going to stand there and let him say that?"

"Uh, yeah," the guy said, shrugging. "Like, that's kind of our job. Independent observers and all that."

Suddenly a huge splash distracted them all. It was Bill, who was swimming over to them, looking defeated.

"Made it to the ring two away from the center," he said, oblivious to the tension between his fellow competitors. "Eddie, Mike... you guys made it look so easy."

Ben glanced over to Richie, as if to say, 'this is your out.'

Richie wrenched out of Ben and Mike's hold and turned to Bill.

"Right?" he asked, forcing a smile onto his face. "These are the two to look out for."

"Yeah. Sure," Henry muttered. "I'm going to be sending all of you home."

Yeah, Eddie highly doubted that. He knew who he was going to be voting off, despite the fact that the others hadn't even finished the first part of the challenge, and he was like 1000% sure that Mike, Ben, and Richie would be voting with him. When no one deigned Henry with an answer, he mumbled once more to himself and stormed off, a cameraman close on his tail.

Eddie may have been playing the game ruthlessly, but he didn't have time for all that negativity. He focused his attention back on the water and watched as Bev and Stan both landed in the ring outside of the center and cheered for both of them. Eddie looked over the base of the cliff, expecting Chris to come careening down on his golf cart, but instead one of the crew wheeled over a TV where there was a stream of Chris, still lounging up top. The asshole was even sipping a margarita.

"Congratulations contestants, you made it through the first part of your first challenge," he said, his voice slightly tinny. "And now, based on your scores, you're going to grab the boxes over there and make your way back..."

"Let me guess," Stan said with a sigh. "Back to the cab-"

"Back to the cabins!" Chris cut in, laughing in delight.

"What's in the boxes?" Bill asked.

"Oh, just the pieces to build a hot tub, which you'll assemble once you all make it back to the cabins. The hot tub will then be available for the rest of the season!"

The eight of them all cheered as an obnoxious air horn signaled the start of the second part of the challenge. Eddie and Mike immediately went running to the boxes, picking up the two smallest of them. It wasn't exactly the reward Eddie would have wished to receive for doing well in the first part of the challenge. What was one more mile at this point, even if there was the extra strain of carrying a crate? Eddie was still going to choose one of the smaller ones, though, duh. He did feel bad when he looked back and saw Ben struggling to drag his crate behind him, but he had to hide a laugh as he watched Henry slip and fall in the sand several times as he struggled with his.

He almost regretted taking the easier route, however, when he and Mike ended up at the cabins and had to wait for everyone else. They did take the time to change back into their clothes, but after that, the time passed mostly with twiddled thumbs. They made some small talk and Eddie learned that Mike lived on a farm, so he had that going for him, so Eddie filed that information away for later.

Once the others arrived, they put together the hot tub in record time, despite everyone else still being in their swimwear and getting _several_ splinters.

"We're done!" Ben said, thrusting his hands in the air.

"Nice!" Richie said, sneaking to Eddie's side and putting his arm around him. "I can't wait to use this with you, doll face."

"God, you are disgusting," Eddie said, picking up Richie's arm by pinching the skin on his wrist, and removing it. 

Richie yelped out in pain and Mike laughed. He held out his fist so Eddie could bump it, which he joyfully did so, and then everyone else was laughing.

"I don't know why you're all so happy," Chris said as he finally joined them, still riding around on the golf cart. "I said the hot tub was going to be available for the rest of the season, but I didn't say that it would be available for all of you. This here is for me." A large, towering man seemed to appear out of nowhere and cleared his throat, causing Chris to jump. "Well, for me and Chef."

"Wait, so we just built _you_ a hot tub?" Bev asked, before collapsing to the ground. "Of course we did."

"Should we be surprised at this point?" Stan asked.

"We're going to have to be expecting anything from this guy from now on," Bill said, and the others nodded.

"Uh, hello? I'm still here? Remember? Your host?" Chris said. "You should be paying attention to meeeeeee."

Eddie rolled his eyes and then shrieked when Chris pushed past him. He reached out and latched onto the hot tub to stop himself from falling over and landing on top of Bev. Richie snuggled up behind Eddie, practically hugging him, a moment too late.

"I've got you babe."

"I was literally fine."

"Yeah, that's great for you two," Chris said, completely dead pan. "Anyway, now you all have to pay attention to me. Congratulations on finishing your first challenge. I would say that all of you did a great job, but that would be a lie. Some of you totally tanked the diving part of the challenge and showed your fellow competitors you might not be helpful in any further group challenges. I'd be nervous if I were those people, because one of you might be voted off tonight at the Extermination Ceremony."

Chris started to walk away and everyone started yelling after him.

"How are we supposed to vote?"

"Where will the Extermination Ceremony be held?"

"You can't just walk away like that? Are you creating a cut away in real time? Like, there's still stuff you need to explain."

"You vote next to the Confessional Toilets," Chris said and then booked it, only leaving even more questions in his wake.

"There are Confessional... Toilets?" Mike asked, nose wrinkling in disgust.

Bev laid down the rest of the way, not even paying the least bit of attention to the mud in her hair.

Eddie sat on top of the toilet, which he had kicked down with the tip of his shoe, cradling his knees close to his chest. He knew that these toilets weren't in use for their, uh, intended purpose, but he wouldn't put it past Chris to have re-purposed some actual outhouses for this. It would fit right in with his sick sense of humor. And even if he hadn't, all the other contestants would be sitting on the same seat when they were being filmed, so either way, he was not in the mood to be crawling with all those germs. He had been lucky enough to avoid dirt for most of the day, since their challenge was all about swimming, so he was definitely doing better than he had thought he would be for the first day.

"So, uh, what do I do?" he asked the camera, as if it could answer him. "I just talk?"

"Try talking about your thoughts on the other contestants," a voice chimed in, and Eddie jumped.

Oh, there was a speaker near the ceiling. Oh shit. That meant _someone_ could actually see everything and had witness Eddie curling up like a dog on top of the toilet.

Just great.

"Okay. Uh, so Mike seems like he's going to be the toughest competition, but for now, I think the best way to play it is keep him on my good side. Henry is obviously the weakest link, and by weakest link, I mean he's a homophobic piece of crap. I'm totally voting him off first, and I don't doubt that it'll be unanimous. He's not going to be sticking around. Which is good, but I wish it would be Richie going first. He's really annoying."

"Are you sure you think he's annoying?"

"Uh, yeah," Eddie said, scratching his chin nervously. "I think I made that pretty obvious. Like, sure he's pretty cute, and it seems like he has everyone's best intention in mind, despite looking like a total teen movie bad boy cliche, but no. He's _totally_ annoying."

"Welcome to the first Extermination Ceremony of Total Drama Island," Chris said.

The eight contestants were seated on tree stumps that were set up around a campfire. Chris stood behind the fire, holding a tray with seven marshmallows.

"When I call your name, you can come up and get your marshmallow," he explained. "That means you're safe for now, and you get to stay on the island. The person who doesn't receive a marshmallow will have to walk down the Dock of Shame and leave the island, never to return. _Ever_."

"I hope you didn't vote for me," Richie whispered, leaning so Eddie could hear him. "I can't wait to get to know you better, cutie."

Eddie shuddered as Chris continued.

"Eddie and Mike, you both get marshmallows. You did the best in the challenge, so that's not a surprise. Next is, Stan and then Bev. Bill, you get a marshmallow."

Richie actually looked nervous with it down to the final three, and Eddie couldn't help but laugh a little. He tried to hide it by eating his marshmallow, but all that really accomplished was getting his hands all sticky.

"Don't worry Richie, you get a marshmallow," Chris said, putting him out of his misery. Eddie scooted closer to Mike as Richie joined them. "Ben, you did really well building my hot tub, which thanks by the way dude, but you scored poorly in the dive. If you can't dive, which is just falling my man, how will you fare with all the other physical challenges? Henry... Yeah, I'm not even going to talk about what you did. You called a fellow competitor one of the few things we have to actually bleep out. Ben, you obviously get the marshmallow, which means, Henry? It's time to walk the Dock of Shame."

Well, Henry had to be dragged down the Dock of Shame rather than walking it by himself, but Eddie was relieved to see him go. The rest of the competitors ate their marshmallows as Chris turned to the camera and kept talking. Eddie had never thought about how weird the hosting segments of reality shows must be when you're part of the cast, but it was really weird. The seven of them slowly made their escape so they didn't have to watch Chris enjoy the sound of his own voice, and they finally were able to unpack their stuff and settle into the cabins.

"You do realize they all left minutes ago?" Chef asked as Chris kept motioning behind him as he talked about the cast of the season.

"No, I did not," Chris said sarcastically. "Maybe you should have told me that minutes ago, then." He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Anyway, now that you have a taste for what's to come, I hope you tune in next week to see how we'll torture... I mean, _challenge_ our competitors on Total... Drama... Island!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Chris, what is the challenge?" Bill asked, mug frozen halfway to his mouth._
> 
> _"I bet you guys are starting to feel a little sleepy after getting up earlier than normal and eating all of this food," Chris said instead of answering. "Am I right?"_
> 
> _Well, Eddie did have to admit that he could for a nap now that Chris mentioned it. Which of course meant that wasn't going to be possible, he thought as he stifled a yawn._
> 
> _"Oh, I really don't like the way he said that," Ben said, face falling onto his plate._
> 
> _[...]_
> 
> _"Well, time to finish up whatever you have left on your plates... or your face," Chris said, "because it's time for your next challenge. An awake-a-thon!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is more use of the static gif in use now that the confessional toilets have been introduced, so take heed of that

Eddie woke up the next day feeling as if he had been hit with one of those ten ton weights from a Looney Tunes cartoon.

"You know those things existed in real life, right?" Richie said, once Eddie expressed this sentiment as they all dragged themselves to the Mess Hall. "Acme wasn't just something invented for Wile E. Coyote."

"And insulting the intelligence of the person you have a crush on isn't exactly the way to win them over," Stan said, causing both Eddie and Richie to splutter. 

"I so do _not_ have a crush on Mr. Type A," Richie said.

"Good. Because I definitely don't want anything to do with you," Eddie bit back.

"They really are going to be like this the whole time," Stan muttered to Bill and Mike.

The three of them laughed and walked up ahead so they wouldn't have to listen to Eddie and Richie's bickering. Eddie was wise to their ways. See if he helped them at all in the next challenge. But then again, he couldn't exactly blame them, because the last thing he wanted himself was to have to listen to Richie. He turned around and walked back so he could join Ben and Bev, leaving Richie alone in between the two groups.

"Yeah, real mature everyone," he said as he crossed his arms.

His arms were still crossed as he sat in the Confessional Toilet.

"I don't know what Eddie's problem is and, honestly, I don't care," he said, feigning disinterest. "I didn't come onto the show to make friends. I came on the show to win the $50,000. Everyone thinks I actually have a crush on that goody two shoes? That's just fine with me. Mess with their heads as well as Eddie's, which was all I was trying to do by calling him names. I know his type. I knew that it would get to him."

"Then how come you seemed really upset that Eddie said he wanted nothing to do with you?"

Richie startled at the sound of the voice coming through the speaker.

"I did not!" he shouted. "And, uh, even if I did, like I said. It's all part of messing with him. With them. The other contestants. I'm making it all the way, baby. You can count on that."

Eddie wasn't sure how someone who exclusively went by the name Chef and wore an honest to goodness chef's cap could be so terrible at cooking, but they had been on the island for several days now, and he had yet to serve them something that remotely resembled edible. Soon they'd be onto their next challenge, and Eddie was worried that he wasn't going to have the energy to complete it. Of course he was still eating the food because he had to, but he wasn't keeping all of it down. He never thought he'd say it, but he was even missing his mother's obnoxiously healthy cooking at that point.

Still, he was trying to stomach a forkful of what he hoped was scrambled eggs when Chris burst into the cafeteria.

"Good morning campers!" he said, looking far too cheerful for how early in the morning it was. He had awoken all of them three hours earlier than usual by blasting an air horn over the camp's PA system, leaving most of them still in their pajamas as they ate their breakfast. "Are you already for your next challenge?"

The response wasn't exactly enthusiastic.

"Yeah, I was worried that's what you'd say. You definitely need some brain food, don't you guys."

Chris clapped his hands together and Chef came in pushing a cart. Even though there was a lid covering the contents, there was the most delicious smell coming from it, and Eddie started drooling.

_Food._ Real food.

The other contestants could smell it too, obviously, as Ben got up and started running to the cart, only to be stopped when Chris practically clothes lined him.

"Hey, don't ruin my moment here, big guy," Chris said. "I had a whole speech and everything prepared, but I guess that doesn't matter now. Whatever. Enjoy your feast."

The seven of them dug in, and oh, it was glorious. There were actual eggs that Eddie didn't' have to question, pancakes, bacon, and thick cut toast. There was orange juice and fresh brewed coffee to wash it all down. The feast had lifted all of their spirits that they even were all talking animatedly between themselves, forgetting for a moment that a new challenge meant that by the end of the night, they would be voting someone off the island. It wasn't until Eddie was so full that he felt as if he couldn't move, did he realize that Chris looked far too please with himself as he watched them eat.

"Hey, so what's today's challenge?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," Chris said, laughing. "You'll see."

"I did not like that," Bev said. "Is it just me, or does his laugh sound like an evil genius?"

"Why, thank you."

"Chris, what is the challenge?" Bill asked, mug frozen halfway to his mouth.

"I bet you guys are starting to feel a little sleepy after getting up earlier than normal and eating all of this food," Chris said instead of answering. "Am I right?"

Well, Eddie did have to admit that he could for a nap now that Chris mentioned it. Which of course meant that wasn't going to be possible, he thought as he stifled a yawn.

"Oh, I really don't like the way he said that," Ben said, face falling onto his plate.

Poor Ben. He couldn't give up before they had even begun. That was no way to win the competition.

"Well, time to finish up whatever you have left on your plates... or your face," Chris said, "because it's time for your next challenge. An awake-a-thon!"

Stan rolled his eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"I am not. When you're done eating, which I'm sure you all are now..." A pause for another evil laugh. "I'd like for all of you to join me at the obstacle course where you'll get started."

"Obstacle course?" Mike asked.

He reached over to pour more coffee into his mug, prompting Bill to snatch the pot out of his hands mid-stream and top off his own. Eddie was tempted to keep the chain going, but he wasn't sure if that would really help him in the long run, since caffeine never seemed to work properly for him. So he pushed his plate away, and accepted his fate as he followed Chris out of the Mess Hall.

"You're not going to put up a fight?" Chris asked and Eddie shook his head. "Huh. I'm surprised."

Yeah, Eddie wanted to give Chris a piece of his mind, but first of all -- that wasn't going to get him anywhere when it came to the competition. And he really had to conserve his energy if he expected to stay awake all day.

"Oh, it's going to be more than just today," Chris said. Eddie had realized he had said that out loud or that the rest of the contestants had joined them. Oh, this did not bode well for him. Unfortunately, he had said that part out loud as well. "No, it does not. So, the challenge is simple enough. The last one to still be awake wins the challenge, and immunity from the Extermination Ceremony."

They all perked up at that.

_Immunity._

That immunity was going to be his, Eddie thought. Looking around, he could see the look of determination clearly on Mike and Richie's faces, so he knew he was going to have to keep an eye on them during this challenge.

"Now, I know all of you are probably already feeling tired, for the previously stated reasons, so I thought we'd do a little exercise to wake you all up. Hence the obstacle course."

"Dude, that'll literally have the _opposite_ effect," Richie groaned.

"You just don't want to exercise," Eddie said. "If you sweat too much, your precious, spiky hair will fall into your face, and you can't have that, can you?"

"Sounds like you _want_ to see me all sweaty," Richie said with a wink.

"Oh, ew! No!"

"I do _not_ want to see Richie sweaty," Eddie insisted to the camera. "I mean, sure, there _is_ something inherently manly... and attractive... about a guy working out... and breaking a sweat..." Eddie sighed dreamily but then shook head head quickly and frowned. "But as I said, ew. I don't want to see _Richie_ like that. With his hair not all gelled for once. Looking soft. Ugh. No!"

"Anyway," Chris continued. "Time to run the obstacle course. There's no rewards for doing well, but there very well may be penalties for doing poorly, so I'd hustle if I were you."

Eddie didn't want to see what any penalty for falling behind could possibly be, so as the other six lined up at the start of the obstacle course, he quickly stretched out his legs and arms as best as he could. Chris counted down from three before blaring an air horn, and the contestants were off. Eddie took the lead at first, which he had anticipated as a runner, but once he made it to the first obstacle, he was slowed down a bit. It was a giant wall with simply two ropes to aid them in climbing over, and his arms weren't' exactly as toned as his thighs. Richie quickly surpassed him, looking back to stick his tongue out at him.

"Hopped enough fences in my time, Road Runner."

"Not exactly something to be proud of," Eddie huffed out.

Richie ignored him as he hopped over on the other side and went through the path of tires that was next. Eddie could just make out Mike taking the rope that Richie had used and Bev queuing up to take his as he jumped himself. Now, the tire path was easy enough, and he had caught up to Richie before he knew it. It didn't mean much, however, because Mike went bolting past the both of them, leaving them breathless. Eddie told himself he shouldn't be that surprised. He knew that Mike was probably going to be his toughest competition, but he had let Richie get into his head and distract him.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Eddie focused then on his own progress through the obstacle course and ignored the others. He had to remind himself that it wasn't actually a race, and all that mattered was putting in his best effort so Chris didn't do something like, say, launch him out of a canon. The strategy worked perfectly, once he got out of his head, because he came in first place. Well, he finished first, because once again... There _was_ no 'first place.'

"Well, sadly no one fell and got hurt, but fine. Whatever," Chris said as the last of them, Stan, finished and collapsed in front of him. "Feeling more awake guys?"

"I'm going to sleep for a thousand years after this," Richie said as he pushed his hair out of his face.

Because he _had_ gotten pretty sweaty, causing the gel in his hair to melt, and it was flopping over into his eyes. Or, well, it was trying to. His giant glasses were kind of in the way, and Eddie was not above using this to his advantage at some point. If Richie were blind during a challenge, it could be extremely helpful.

"Well, I wouldn't start those thousand years just yet my man," Chris said. "That'd mean you'd be the first out of the challenge, and that could send you straight to the Dock of Shame."

"I never want to hear 'Dock of Shame' or 'Extermination Ceremony' or any of these phrases ever again," Stan said. "How many of you are left again? So I know how many more times I'm going to have to hear them before I win."

"Oh, before you win?" Mike asked. "Yeah right. I'm definitely going to win th..."

Mike started yawning, and Stan laughed at him, but he wasn't immune to The Yawn, and he soon joined him. Which of course meant that all of them were yawning, and Chris was cackling so hard that he had to lean over and support himself on his thighs.

"Oh, this is going to be over before it even had a chance to start, is it?" he asked, directing the question to the camera. "I sincerely hope not. We shall see when we return on Total... Drama... Island!"

"We all agree it's weird when he does that, right?" Eddie asked, and the others nodded. "Okay. Good. It's not just me."

"I don't want to know what else he's going to make us do until we start falling asleep," Bev said. "Like, he clearly wants bad things to happen for ratings, and if the obstacle course was first, I can just imagine what's coming is going to be worse. I almost want to go to sleep so I don't have to worry about it. But..."

"You need the money?" everyone asked.

"What are you planning on doing with the money if you win?" Ben asked her.

"I'm going to move my clothing line off Etsy and start it for real. How about you?"

"I also want to get my career in order," he said. "I'm an architect, but there's only so many intern positions I can handle before I go crazy."

"I'm in the same boat," Eddie said. He never thought he'd open up to the other contestants, but he didn't see the harm in sharing his plans if everyone else was. He couldn't think of a way any of them could use it against him, if they all had pretty much the same idea. "I'm going to start my limousine business."

Richie laughed.

"God, you're all such squares. If I win the money, first I'm going to throw the biggest party anyone in my town has ever seen. They're going to all be green with jealous envy. Then, I'm going to go and get a few more piercings and my first tattoo. Then, I'm going to get that bass I've been eyeing up at Guitar World for awhile now. And then..."

"Could you all shut up already?" Chris said. "I have a new idea on how help keep you guys awake."

"Come on, man," Mike said. "I think the viewers would like to actually get to know all the contestants. See us all interact."

"No, I think they'd love to see you guys try to stay awake during... this!"

He turned, pointing at Chef who had switched out his chef's hat for a crown. Which was the only the start of his ridiculous outfit. He was dressed up like a fairy, wand and everything, and once his had their attention, whimsical music started playing.

"That's right everyone. Chef is going to sing you all some lullabies. Think you can handle it?"

Well, for $50,000, Eddie sure hoped so.

\----------------------------------------

Ben was the first to go, which sadly Eddie had kind of seen coming. The poor guy had been having more trouble sleeping than the rest of them. Then was Stan, and surprisingly Mike with Bill not far behind. But then it became a stand still between himself, Richie, and Bev. As tired as he had been at the start of the challenge, Eddie simply refused to fail.

Once again, his pettiness was canceling out any modicum of common sense.

Bev and Richie's eyes were drooping, and Eddie was starting to think he had this one in the bag. But then again, his own eyes were drooping, so it wasn't like he could really keep track of how tired Bev and Richie looked.

God, how long had they been awake?

"Oh, about three days now," Chris said.

Shit. He had said that out loud again, hadn't he?

"Yeah, apparently when you get tired, you say things that you don't realize you're saying. In concept hilarious, but you haven't actually said anything hilarious yet, which is a shame. We've been waiting for it to happen for 72 hours now."

Eddie noticed for the first time how close one of the cameramen and mic operators were standing to him and he flipped them off.

"Yeah, we'll just blur that. Anyway, anyone feeling sleepy yet?"

"Not even close," Richie said. "I could... I could do this with my eyes open."

"Uh, yeah," Chris said, making a circular motion with his pointer finger. "That's how being awake works, dude."

And with that, Richie passed out in his seat.

"Two remain!" Chris announced, and that was really the last thing Eddie remembered.

Next thing he knew, he was waking up in the cabin to see Ben and Mike playing cards.

"How long have I been out?" he asked, his voice rasping.

"Almost twelve hours," Mike answered. "How do you feel?"

"Honestly? More tired than before I passed out. Did I win?"

"No, Bev did," Ben said, smiling.

Oh boy. Looked like the guy had a crush. That wasn't going to do him any good in the competition. When feelings got in the way, you'd eventually take your eye off the prize. Eddie was lucky he didn't have to worry about that.

"You were really close, though," Mike explained. "As soon as she realized you had fallen asleep, she dozed off herself. At least that's what Chris said. Anyway, Ben, you have any threes?"

"Go fish."

"Damn," Eddie muttered, and then fell back asleep.

He didn't wake up again until it was time for the Extermination Ceremony. He dragged his feet the entire way to the campfire and practically fall onto his seat. Everyone else looked to be in about the same boat, except for Bev, who somehow looked miraculously awake. But upon further inspection, Eddie could see her eye twitching. She was probably the worst off out of all of them.

"Welcome to the Extermination Ceremony," Chris said, appearing with his tray of marshmallows. "Now, if I call your name, that means you're safe from extermination, and you can come up and get your marshmallow. The last person left will have to walk down the Dock of Shame never to return to Total Drama Island. _Ever._ "

"Is he really going to say that every time?" Stan asked.

"I can hear you, but I'm ignoring that," Chris said. Before Stan could contradict him, he said, "Bev won immunity by winning the challenge, so she is safe."

Even with her name being called, she didn't wake up, so Chris threw her marshmallow at her. It landed and stuck in her hair.

"Our two runner ups, who seem to love doing everything together despite their bickering, Richie and Eddie."

Eddie pushed Richie as they made their way up to collect their marshmallows, but it was alright, since Richie just pushed him right back. He grabbed his marshmallow and made to smoosh it in Eddie's face, so Eddie ducked down quickly and laughed as Richie fell over him. He tried to brush off the dirt from his marshmallow, which had fallen right onto the ground, but it was obviously hopeless. He tried to not let it show how disappointed he was as he tossed it over his shoulder, but Eddie could tell, and strangely... he felt _a little_ bad about it. He did his best to split his in half and gave the other piece to Richie. He definitely did _not_ feel any butterflies at the smile that graced Richie's face.

"Bill and Mike, you both live to see another day," Chris continued, handing the two their marshmallows. "That leaves us with Stan and Ben. Ben, you were the first to fall asleep, and we know the sleep over rules. That means you're lame. I'm surprised no one drew anything embarrassing on your face."

Ben's hands instinctively came up to his face as Chris laughed. Eddie saw Richie to go kick him -- unknown to the host since they were all standing behind him -- but Bill placed his hand on Richie's shoulder, and he stopped.

"And Stan," Chris said. "You may have held out longer than Ben, but only just. And your sarcastic nature can be read as abrasive."

"Wow, I had no idea," Stan said, and Chris sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Eddie realized he did that quite often, and he was surprised the guy didn't have a permanent indent there at this point.

"Yeah, I'm not even going to bother with the rest of my speech," he said. "Ben, you get the marshmallow, which is only a little bit of a surprise. Stan, it's time for you to walk the Dock of Shame."

"Wait. What?" Ben asked. 

"Hey, you totally deserve it," Stan told him. "Go get your marshmallow."

Ben gave Stan a hug before he joined the others. Chris set his tray down on one of the now empty chairs and turned to Stan.

"You know how it goes, dude. Time to leave."

"Yeah, and never return, ever. I get it," Stan said, waving his hand. "Well, it was a lot of fun everyone, even if I didn't get to stay that long. I already consider all of you friends, and I wish you all the best of luck during the competition."

Everyone came in then for a big group hug, and then Stan was off to the Dock of Shame.

"Wow, wished that guy could have been that sincere when it mattered," Chris said, turning to the camera. "He might not have been voted off, then. Interesting to see our campers trying out some different tactics and not voting off the weakest in this week's challenge. Tune in next week to see what other new strategies they'll come up with on Total... Drama..."

"Island. Yeah, yeah, we get it," Richie said. He threw his arm around Eddie's shoulders and tried to steer him to walk along with him, but Eddie shrugged him off. He was getting very good at it, since Richie had a tendency to constantly put his hands on Eddie. It was getting tiring. "Aw, come on doll face. Don't you want to go celebrate your second place?"

"Second place isn't going to win me $50,000," Eddie said, and he left the camp fire by himself.

"I really like Eddie," Mike said. "I think he'd be my toughest competition, but he's definitely let Richie get to him too much. And he likes it far more than he's willing to admit, which I think is just going to make it even worse in the long run. They just need to hook up and get it over with."

"I think Richie and Eddie would be cute together," Bev said. "But I do think it's a bad idea to start a relationship during the game. They're already too distracted dancing around each other, you know? But I really do hope that after this is all over, they try it out."

"I am _not_ 'hooking up' with Richie," Eddie said, doing the finger quotes and everything. "That would be disgusting. And not just because it's Richie. Do you know how many germs there are in those cabins? I don't think anyone has swept in there for years! And who knows how long it's been since they changed those sheets? I mean, obviously I had brought my own sheets and immediately switched them out once I claimed my bunk, but I know Richie flopped right onto his bunk without even thinking about it. So if he even _thinks_ of coming near mine, I will punch his lights out."

"That's the only reason you wouldn't hook up with him, though?" the mysterious voice asked. "Like, if he took a shower before hand, you would?"

Eddie spluttered.

"That isn't what I said!"

"So, are you in or not?" Chris asked Chef as they sat in the monitor room.

Which was an accurate descriptor considering the walls were covered in monitors. From the Confessional Toilets to the Mess Hall to all the roaming cameras, they could see it all from here. They were currently camped out in front of the monitors that showed the inside of the cabins, and they were passing a tub of popcorn between the two of them, as they watched the competitors crawl into their bunks.

"I don't know," Chef said. "It feels a little wrong, doesn't it?"

"We're already making money off of them. This is just something a little extra for us. Gives us something to do in the down time."

"Alright, fine. I'm in." Chef pulled his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a few bills that he then threw onto the table. "Fifty says that Richie and Eddie _don't_ get together during the game, but Ben and Bev do."

"Oh, you are so wrong my friend," Chris said with a laugh. "But I will _take_ that bet."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _It was strangely quiet in the cabin without Stan. Sure, Eddie still had Ben and Mike as roommates, but the two spent most of their down time playing cards, so there wasn't much for Eddie to do. Especially since they had graduated from Go Fish to slightly more advanced games like Cribbage._
> 
> _So Eddie, as loathe as he was to admit it, found himself wandering over to the other cabin so he could hang out with the other contestants. Not_ just _Richie, of course. Bill was fun to talk to, which Eddie had a few times in between challenges, and Bev seemed cool._
> 
>  _But then, every time, his attention would be dominated by Richie. He did still tease Eddie nearly mercilessly, but it wasn't_ all _bad. Richie would introduce him to all kinds of music, something Eddie had never really gotten into. It wasn't all as fast and hard like Eddie had expected, and he actually enjoyed most of it. He may have also enjoyed the time spent laying on the rug of the cabin floor, with minimal freaking out about germs, next to Richie with the music washing over them._
> 
>  _Didn't mean he_ liked _Richie. He was still gross._

"I miss Stan, and I'm not afraid to admit that," Richie told the camera, his arms crossed. "I know friends aren't going to get me anywhere in the competition, but yeah. I'd say that Stan was my friend. I guess I was the only one who voted for Ben."

"I actually can't believe the others didn't vote me off," Ben said. He scratched his head nervously and then took a drink from a cup he had brought into the Confessional Toilet with hi. "I don't think Chef's coffee is actually _coffee_ , but I'll do anything to stay awake right now. Seriously, is this coffee? I think it's made from acorns. Anyway, I need to prove to everyone that they made the right choice. I'm not going to let them down."

It was strangely quiet in the cabin without Stan. Sure, Eddie still had Ben and Mike as roommates, but the two spent most of their down time playing cards, so there wasn't much for Eddie to do. Especially since they had graduated from Go Fish to slightly more advanced games like Cribbage.

So Eddie, as loathe as he was to admit it, found himself wandering over to the other cabin so he could hang out with the other contestants. Not _just_ Richie, of course. Bill was fun to talk to, which Eddie had a few times in between challenges, and Bev seemed cool.

But then, every time, his attention would be dominated by Richie. He did still tease Eddie nearly mercilessly, but it wasn't _all_ bad. Richie would introduce him to all kinds of music, something Eddie had never really gotten into. It wasn't all as fast and hard like Eddie had expected, and he actually enjoyed most of it. He may have also enjoyed the time spent laying on the rug of the cabin floor, with minimal freaking out about germs, next to Richie with the music washing over them.

Didn't mean he _liked_ Richie. He was still gross.

A couple days after Stan had left the island, they did their next challenge, which was a normal game of dodge ball. It was rather underwhelming, and Eddie was thankful to learn that no one was going to be exterminated for this one.

And then there was a talent show, and Eddie was starting to feel as if he was at a normal summer camp.

Not like he'd know what that was like. He had never gone to a summer camp in his life, and all his knowledge came from Eat My Shorts.

Not having any real talent, Eddie ended up showing how to fix a motorcycle engine to the other competitors. He ended up being booed off the stage by Chris and Chef.

All of the competitors were starting to wonder if there was ever going to be another Extermination Ceremony when Chris woke them up by playing the Halloween theme music at a terrifying level over the PA system.

"Morning campers," he said as they dragged themselves into the Mess Hall. "Are you all ready for an actual challenge today?"

"Yes and no," Richie said with a groan.

"You're just scared that I'm going to kick you off with this challenge," Eddie teased.

"Wonderful that you would word it that way," Chris said with his signature evil laugh. "Today's challenge will be all about facing your fears."

"What does _that_ mean?" Eddie asked.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. We've set up special mini-challenges where you'll each face your fear face to face."

"How do you even know our fears?" Bill asked.

"Yeah, probably should have paid attention to the questionnaire you filled out when auditioning for the show," Chris said with a smirk.

"I've kept quiet about the other questionable things you've done to us," Eddie said, causing Chris to scoff at that blatant lie. "But this honestly has to be against some law or something. You can't make us do this."

Chris pulled out a copy of the contract they had all signed from one of the many pockets in his dumb cargo pants.

"Uh, yes. I can."

"Does the winner get immunity at least?" Mike asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Why is he _always_ like this?" Ben asked with a sigh.

"Hey, don't worry guys," Bev said, rubbing Ben's arm in a calming gesture. "There's only so much they can do that they would actually be able to air on television, so I'm sure we'll be able to face whatever it is that they throw our way."

"Oh, we'll see about that."

Chris and Chef shared a, frankly, disturbing look as they laughed.

"Oh, I really don't like this," Bill said. "Are we sure they're not, like, super villains?"

Mike got up from his seat and pulled Bill into his side, telling him it was going to be alright.

"Seems like everyone's pairing off for some comfort, huh Eds?" Richie asked. "Do you need some Tozier lovin' to help ease your fear?"

"Ew. Gross," Eddie said, sticking out his tongue. He noticed Richie staring but decided to not point it out. "You couldn't have worded that in any other way?"

"Uh, nope," Richie mumbled. He shakily grabbed his glass and took a long gulp. "No can do, sweet thing."

"So, Richie was definitely staring at me, right?" Eddie asked. "Not like I'd care if he _was_ , but I'd just like to know for sure so I don't think I'm going crazy, you know?"

"I was _so_ not staring at Eddie," Richie insisted, waving his arms around the Confessional Toilet. "What do I care if he looks adorable every time he sticks his tongue out? Like, how could he look so cute when he does it? I just look as petulant as I'm being? It's not fair. Anyway, uh, where was I?"

"You were basically admitting that you love Eddie," the mysterious voice said.

"What? No I wasn't! Besides, could you see a Type A guy like Eddie and someone like me ever working out? He'd nag me to death before we even get to hooking up."

Crossing his arms, Richie smiled triumphantly before realizing what he had implied.

"Not that I'd want to hook up with him if it _would_ work out! Ugh!"

"Do you like this Wheel of Torture I had made up for this challenge?" Chris asked, pointing to a wheel that had pictures of all their faces lazily plastered to it. "What's going to happen is I'm going to spin the wheel, and whoever it lands on, will perform their challenge. Is everyone ready?"

The contestants all muttered half heartedly among themselves.

"Yeah, that question was more of a formality," Chris said, grabbing the wheel and giving it a hard spin.

They all watched it go round and round until it finally started to slow down. It was with baited breath that they observed the arrow stop on Mike's picture.

He sighed loudly.

"Hey, it's going to be alright," Bill told him. "Just like you said, remember?"

"Yeah," Mike said quietly, fists clenched. "Yeah, I can do this."

"But _can_ you?" Chris asked.

He motioned for Mike to walk over into a circle that had been laid out on the grass a few yards away from the wheel. It was hard to tell, but it looked as if it was made out of twigs. Were they about to sacrifice him, Eddie thought. As one of the crewmen came to join them, Mike's eyes widened and he asked 'Do I smell gasoline?' just as the crewman lit the circle on fire.

Everyone started yelling, particularly Richie, who's 'What the fuck?' could be heard over all the others.

"Somebody help me!" Mike shouted, causing them to calm down a bit and collect themselves.

Bev told them that she was going to find water before running off while Bill and Ben tried to keep the fire under control by kicking dirt onto it.

"You guys are freaking out over nothing," Chris said, clearly unimpressed. "The flames are barely a foot high. And the circle is large enough that Mike won't even break a sweat."

Metaphorically stepping back from the situation, Eddie had to admit that Chris was right, Plus the crewman had returned with a fire extinguisher. As evil as Chris was, it was obvious that they had taken every precaution to make sure that it was safe.

But of course, that didn't mean much if your phobia was fire.

"You know, I didn't say that the fire itself was my greatest fear," Mike said. "So I don't think this should count."

"Yeah, well, what you actually put down even managed to make _me_ feel an emotion, and I know you guys don't think that highly of me for some reason, but I couldn't do that to you." 

Wow, Eddie realized he had underestimated their host.

"Besides, the show's lawyers wouldn't allow me to do what I had originally planned. They won't even allow me to say it."

Oh. Well. Never mind. He was evil.

"I think that terrifies me more than the fire," Mike admitted.

"You just have to stay in there for five minutes, which you're more than halfway done. So, are you sure you want to quit now?"

Mike looked over his shoulder to see that Bev was running toward him, precariously holding a bucket of water. The water kept sloshing over the edge as she ran, so it was hard to say if there would even be enough left to put out the fire, but Mike started yelling at her to stop just in case.

"Bev, no! It's alright. I was right. I can do this. Uh, thank you, though."

"Oh, yeah. Sure. No problem," she said, voice straining. She dropped the bucket and watched the water roll across the grass. "I needed the exercise, anyway."

After the incredibly tense first two minutes, the rest of Mike's challenge went by surprisingly fast. The crewman came over and put out the fire, making Mike still wait a minute before he allowed him to step out of the circle.

"Congratulations Mike, you passed the challenge!" Chris announced. "Even if you did whine like a little baby at first. Now, let's spin the wheel and see who's next to go."

Next was Bev, who had barely caught her breath after running all the way to the cabins and back, so Eddie was worried that she might start hyperventilating when the crewman brought out the medical bag with blood. She was strong, however, and she made it through her challenge without batting an eye, which was more than Eddie could say for himself. If Bev's challenge was freaking him out, he was worried what his own challenge would bring.

After Bev was Ben, who had to deal with the crewmen all walking down in a line, reading off insults from index cards to him. It broke Eddie's heart to learn that people making fun of his appearance was Ben's fear, but he made it through the challenge before Eddie cracked and punched someone.

Richie had to face a clown making balloon animals for five minutes, which honestly didn't seem fair compared to everyone else. He didn't even look that scared when Chris revealed what his challenge was, and Eddie wondered if the asshole hadn't lied on the questionnaire. 

It was down to him and Bill, then, so he tried to gather up as much courage as he could when Chris went to spin the wheel. He told himself it was good that he wasn't going last, when the arrow landed on his picture, for whatever reason.

"Now, Eddie, your challenge is _really_ something special," Chris said, rubbing his hands together. He looked like an evil, little scheming cricket, and Eddie did not like it. "You put down that your biggest fear was germs, which we _do_ believe you there, but the thing is, simply by coming onto this show, you have faced that fear. We realized it wouldn't really be fair to base your challenge on that. So we did some digging and found out about one of your other fears."

"What do you mean?" Eddie asked, and then it hit him. "Oh no. Absolutely not. Can't I just have Richie, like, lick my face or something?"

Richie raised an eyebrow.

"You want me to lick your face, sweetheart?"

"I mean, I would definitely rather that than... than..."

"Green jello!" Chris said gleefully, shoving a bowl of the stuff under Eddie's noise. "Just one bite, Eddie, that's all you need to pass the challenge? Think you can do it?"

"I'm sorry. You're scared of jello?" Richie asked with a laugh.

"Of course not!" Eddie shouted at him. "Just the green jello. It looks disgusting."

"You have seriously got to be kidding me," Richie said, rubbing a hand down his face. A seriously dirty and gross hand, and come on. Germs were still obviously Eddie's legitimate fear. He'd much rather face them in some way rather than... than... "Eat the jello, Eds."

"I'm not going to eat it. Why do you care so much if I do anyway? It's a sure fire way to have me voted off."

"They are so oblivious, it hurts," Mike whispered to Bill who laughed.

Having overheard, Chris looked as if he was going to be sick. His hand instinctively went to one of his pockets and patted what was most likely his wallet.

"Okay, we're upping the anti," he said. "Now you have to eat the whole bowl."

"No!"

"Listen Eds, I know that most of this fear comes from knowing how irrational it is," Richie said, ignoring Chris. "That's how it is for me with clowns. And even facing my actual fear of coming out a couple years ago doesn't make it any easier to watch one of those freaks honk their nose or squirt each other with flowers."

Having overheard, the clown threw her balloon animals on the ground and stormed away, shoes squeaking so ridiculously that it sort of diminished how angry she was.

"That is _way_ scarier, isn't it?" Eddie agreed softly, ignoring the clown. "Coming out? If we can do that..."

He took a deep breath and, with shaky hands, grabbed the bowl of green jello. He almost gave up when he took the first bite. The damn stuff was green apple instead of lime, for God's sake! But he soldiered through, and before he knew it, he had finished the whole thing.

"Yes!" Richie cheered. "I knew you could do it! Uh, not that it means anything to me."

"It _totally_ means something to him," Eddie said with a smug smirk. "Not that it matters to me that it matters to him. It's just that this is something that I can use against him later in the competition."

Mike shook his head as he laughed.

"So oblivious."

"Alright. Well, that leaves with just one more camper to go. Are you ready Bill?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Aw, why so glum chum? If I knew my brother was getting to come visit me, I'd be a little more enthusiastic than that."

"Ge-Georgie?" Bill asked, tripping on the name.

Eddie knew about Bill's little brother Georgie. He was one of the only things, next to his writing, Bill would talk about if you got him going. He missed him so much that Eddie's heart went out to him. He wanted to be happy that Bill was going to get to see him after being apart for weeks, but for the phobia challenge? Chris was definitely up to something awful, and Eddie had a feeling he was about to really outdo himself.

Chris led them away from the Wheel of Torture to an obstacle course that looked far more intense than the one they had run previously. There was more fire and spikes and a large pit. And then at the end, dangling from a rope, was a kid who had a striking resemblance to Bill.

"Oh my God, Georgie. I'm coming!" Bill shouted.

"Yep. You got it," Chris said gleefully. "You have five minutes to run through the course to save your brother. Think you can do it?"

Everyone started yelling once more. Mike and Ben were up in Chris's face, telling him he couldn't do this. Bev was trying to talk some sense into the crew, but they were staunchly ignoring her. Richie was talking calmly to Georgie, who Eddie noticed, didn't look all too frightened. Considering he was around 14, he was probably enjoying all the hooblah.

"You do realize your time has already started, right?" Chris asked. "I'd get moving if I were you. Five minutes isn't exactly much time for this course."

"Yeah, come get me Bill," Georgie said. "It'll be fun!"

"Oh, he's... he's alright," Mike said with a sigh of relief. "Okay. You got this, then, right. Bill?"

Bill did _not_ look like he had it. He had gone pale and was shaking so badly that it was taking him far too long to pass each section of the obstacle course. The timer ran out before he had even made it to the halfway point, and he collapsed onto the rickety rope bridge he had been crossing. Georgie was shouting to him that it was alright as a couple of the crewmen lowered him down, but Bill didn't relax until Georgie was on the ground and he was running into a bone crushing hug.

Well, Eddie knew how he was going to vote that night, as hard as it was going to be. But Bill needed to be with his brother after that.

\----------------------------------------

"Alright. It's down to Eddie and Bill," Chris said, holding the last two marshmallows. "Bill, you were unable to complete your challenge, but at least your's was _actually_ scary that I can almost not blame you. Eddie, you put up the biggest fuss over green jello. Like, seriously dude, another camper had to talk you down. That's not a good look."

Eddie pouted and crossed his arms. It didn't seem to phase Chris, however.

"Well, once again, the votes surprised me. Eddie, you get the marshmallow. That means, Bill, it's time for you to walk down the Dock of Shame."

Bill didn't look upset at all as Eddie leaned in to give him a hug.

"Hey, you and Mike? Final two, for sure," he whispered into Eddie's ear. "It's what I've been saying since Day One."

"Well, I certainly hope so," Eddie replied, and then he joined the other four.

"So, maybe our campers aren't as nice as I thought," Chris told the camera. "Thank God for that. Tune in next week for hopefully some good old fashioned reality show betrayal here on Total... Drama... Island!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Miss Big Bill that much? Like, yeah, he_ was _hot, but this eye candy is still available, doll face."_
> 
> _"If you were eye candy, you'd be some chalk flavored penny candy that no one would want," Eddie joked, and Richie turned red._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys check out this awesome fanart that @Sailor_moon_bb (or [peach-corpse](http://www.peace-corpse.tumblr.com) on tumblr) drew for this fic!

"Hey, you haven't been sniffing around our cabin that much recently," Richie said as he cornered Eddie in the Mess Hall. "Miss Big Bill that much? Like, yeah, he _was_ hot, but this eye candy is still available, doll face."

"If you were eye candy, you'd be some chalk flavored penny candy that no one would want," Eddie joked, and Richie turned red. Before he could start properly freaking out, Eddie added, "Besides, I think Bill and Mike have something going on."

"Oh, yeah. Totally," Richie agreed.

Chef sat in the Confessional Toilet, scribbling furiously in a notebook.

"Oh ho ho. I'm going to clean Chris out."

The next challenge was another non-elimination round. They had to race canoes to the neighboring island, which Mike easily won. No one had doubted that for a second, so they were all relieved when there was no Extermination Ceremony. Chris, on the other hand, was pissed there had been no betrayal since, when it was time for the contestants to choose their canoes, some of them were better equipped than others. Rather than fight over them, they assigned them based on everyone's skill set, giving the the better canoes to those that had less upper arm strength or less stamina.

Then there was a paintball war with a slight twist. Eddie, Richie, and Ben got stuck dressing up as deer and Bev and Mike had to hunt them through the forest. Thank God once again no one was eliminated, because Eddie got hit a dozen or more times. And it _wasn't_ because he kept getting distracted by how cute Richie looked with the little deer tail.

The challenge after that was finally an elimination round, for which Chris called them all into the kitchen. Chef was with him, his chef's hat switched out for... well, another chef's hat, but this one was gold.

"Today's challenge is a little different than the previous ones. Rather than testing your various survival skills, we'll be testing your skills in the kitchen and Chef will be helping me with the judging."

"Like Chef knows what real food tastes like," Richie whispered to Eddie, causing him to laugh.

Richie looked as if he had won the lottery, having made him laugh, and Eddie had to fight the urge to hit him.

"Now, you'll be split into two teams to prepare your three course meals for me and Chef to taste. You're probably all thinking, 'Wait, Chris. That's not fair. There's an odd number of us.' Normally I wouldn't care, but Chef has a bit of a bleeding heart."

Chef grunted in agreement.

"So we've brought back a camper for one of the teams. Team One will be Ben, Bev, and Mike while Team Two will be Richie, Eddie and..."

The door to the kitchen opened to reveal Stan.

The contestants all cheered exchanging hugs with Stan.

"Yeah, yeah. Very heart warming," Chris said as he rolled his eyes. "Alright. We have a food truck outside with supplies to choose from. Take what you need and then you have until dinner time to prepare the best possible feast."

The contestants went running to the food truck, which quickly became so disorganized that it looked like a crime scene. It became evident early on each team would need a head chef, so Team One appointed Mike while Eddie just sort of decided for Team Two that it would be best if he led.

"I wonder what the other team is cooking," Richie said, as he started rinsing their vegetables.

"Don't worry about the other team," Eddie snapped. "Just focus on our meal."

"Oh, sweetheart, I like it when you get bossy."

Stan sighed.

"I didn't agree to come back to be put in between those two lovebirds," Stan told the camera. "If they're going to insist on arguing the whole time, I may be forced to do something dire."

"We decided on a pasta dish, because who doesn't love pasta?" Mike said. "The appetizer is seasoned asparagus and dessert is a chocolate souffle. Yeah, I may have baked a lot on the farm."

"Of course, I know how to cook," Eddie said, crossing his arms. "I've had to do it for myself for years now, so of course I know how."

"Eds, if you don't season the vegetables, they're just going to be boring," Richie said.

It wasn't said rudely. Obviously it was important that they worked together, so he clearly wasn't trying to sabotage him. It was just some friendly advice, but you could see Eddie was not taking it that way.

"I think I know what I'm doing, Rich," he said, practically hissing the words through his teeth.

"That's so blah, though," Richie said. "It's why so many kids hate vegetables. It's just chewy water then."

Eddie turned toward him, waving the serving spoon he was holding in his face.

"Are you saying I have the palette of a whiny kid?"

"Hey, probably should get the appetizer out of the way so we have enough time to work on the main course," Stan said before Richie could say something stupid in response. "That seems like a good strategy, right?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Eddie said, calming down, and when he wasn't looking, Stan poured the spices into the pan where Richie was sauteing the mixed veggies.

"Are we still sure that a sundae is a good idea for our dessert?" Richie asked, after winking at Stan. (As if he hadn't just saved his bacon, and now he was just hopping right back into the hot water.) "Like, it'll melt while Chris and Chef are eating everything else."

"That's why we make that last," Eddie said slowly.

He was trying to not go off on Richie every time he said something, but Eddie wasn't exactly the best at working in groups. After a lifetime living under his mother's thumb, he hated giving up control. Especially for something important, say a challenge that could send him home if a teammate performed poorly.

"Okay, but you don't eat two courses in a minute, doll face," Richie said, intent on digging his grave. "That still gives it plenty of time to melt."

Eddie hit Richie's butt with the spoon, promptly making a face of disgust as he tossed it into the sink.

"Oh baby," Richie moaned.

Stan slapped his hand over Richie's mouth, and then said to the two of them, "I need you both to concentrated. Can you just stop for one night? After this challenge, I don't care what you do."

"I'm sorry, Stan," Eddie said. "I need to work at being a better team player."

"And I should stop talking sometimes," Richie admitted.

"In general, yeah," Stan said with a scoff. "Okay. Apologies accepted. Now, Eddie, a sundae is a terrible idea for dessert. Now, a brownie with ice cream I think would be a good compromise, right? Sure, it'll melt a bit, but it's supposed to."

Eddie's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea."

Team Two was on track then, Richie going back to the food truck to gather what they needed for brownies and started on the batter.

At the same time, Team One had finished their appetizer, leaving it on the back burner to simmer. Bev had boiled the water for the pasta and was watching it to make sure it cooked the perfect amount of time while Ben and Mike were working on a home made sauce.

"I wonder what the other team is making," Ben said as he ground up some garlic. "I hope they didn't also go for pasta. It seems like it'd be a popular choice."

"I think I saw them grab ice cream, so I'm not even worried if they also choose pasta," Mike said.

"Oh yeah," Bev said with a laugh. "Chris is going to be a stickler with those rules. He said until dinner to prepare. He won't let them scoop that later."

"They might have a plan for it," Ben said. "So, I'm not letting my guard down."

He threw the garlic into the sauce pot with all the flourish of a cooking show host. Bev held up her hand for a high five, even though that meant they all smelled like garlic.

"Well, even if they have a plan, we're still going to kick their butts," Mike said. "Our meal smells amazing so far."

"Yeah!" Bev shouted. "Dream Team!"

Team Two hadn't banded together quite as well. It had been quiet while Richie prepared the brownies and put them into the oven. Their mixed vegetables were still cooking and Eddie had only just started preparing their chicken cutlets. The time crunch was starting to put the pressure on him, and Richie had started singing under his breath which was super distracting.

"You really can't stay quiet for longer than ten minutes, can you?" he asked, angrily dipping the chicken into the breading that Stan had prepared.

"Well, excuse you," Richie said, drawing out the word. "It took me at least fifteen minutes to mix the brownies, and I was quiet that whole time."

"That isn't the point. We still need to concentrate. The main course is really what counts."

"Oh, so you're saying my contribution doesn't matter?" Richie asked, and oh shit. He actually looked pissed off. "The dessert is the last thing they'll eat. Final impression, man."

"Oh, it's 'man' and not 'doll face' or 'sweetheart' now when I'm trying to lead this team?"

Richie walked up to Eddie and got right up into his face.

"I'm not holding any punches just because you're cute, cutie."

"Guys!" Stan yelled. "Can you seriously not quit it? I can't take this anymore!"

"Well, if Richie would stop singing, I can finish my meal."

"Your meal?!" Richie shrieked, and that was the last straw.

Stan had had it.

"Yeah," Stan said with a sigh. "I may have done something I'm not exactly proud of."

Eddie sat on the Confessional Toilet, curled in on himself, his teeth chattering.

"He locked us in the walk in freezer!"

"Eds, it's adorable that you think that's going to do anything," Richie said, laughing as Eddie pounded on the walk in freezer's door. "These things lock from the outside automatically. We're in here until Stan let's us out."

"Wait. Lock locked?" Eddie asked, starting to hyperventilate.

"Hey, it's okay. Stan isn't going to forget us."

That wasn't enough to calm Eddie down, and his breathing quickened more.

"Okay, so I shouldn't have used the word 'lock,'" Richie said, and Eddie did laugh a little at that. "There you are, doll face. I just need you to breath with me, okay?"

"Can't... see... Too... dark..."

"Hey, that's alright. Come here." Richie pulled Eddie to his chest so he could feel his chest as it moved. "Okay, breathe with me now. Nice and even."

Eddie did his best to even his breathing, but it took some time. Richie kept talking him through it, and once Eddie's attack was over, he continued to hold him.

"Thank you," Eddie said quietly. His breath turned into a little cloud in front of him. He had been too busy panicking to notice how cold it was. He would deny it until his dying day, but he snuggled up closer to Richie. "You're really good at that."

"Yeah, I know it may be hard to believe, but I had a tough time growing up. I learned to deal."

Eddie rested his check against Richie's arm.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

Richie shrugged, dislodging Eddie. Eddie just had time to be disappointed before Richie pulled him back into their previous position.

"It is what it is."

"But you're here now."

"Yeah," Richie said, speaking quietly himself. "I'm here now."

While Richie and Eddie were having there heart to heart, Stan blissfully finished the chicken and plated it up with the mixed vegetables. Just as Chris was counting down the last few seconds, he cut two pieces of the brownies and scooped the vanilla ice cream onto each piece and tossed the plates into the fridge. He let out a sigh of relief; he had made it work.

"Alright, first up for judging is Team One," Chris said. He started banging on the table with his fists. "Bring us our feast."

Bev brought out the appetizer, which Chris and Chef seemed to enjoy well enough. It was the pasta that Ben set in front of them that first blew them away, and when Mike brought out the souffle, they were positive that they had it in the bag.

"An excellente effort," Chris said. "Now for Team Two."

Stan served their entire meal, although Chris and Chef didn't point out that the rest of his team was missing. They didn't spit anything out, but clearly weren't enjoying it as much as Team One's meal.

"Campers, it's time to announce the winner. Team Two, you aren't even a team. Where did Richie and Eddie go?"

"Oh [bleep]," Stan said and then ran back to the kitchen.

"Well, it might be for the best he lost his team," Chris said, "because Team One dominated this challenge. That means you all get immunity and can't be voted off at the Extermination Ceremony."

Mike, Bev, and Ben started cheering as Stan returned with two popsilce-mates.

"I said I was sorry," he mumbled, but seeing the others celebrating, Richie glared at him as he said, "S-sorry doesn't be-begin to cover it."

"I'll see you three at the Extermination Ceremony tonight. Hopefully you two are defrosted by then."

\----------------------------------------

"There's only two marshmallows on my plate," Chris said. "Now, Richie and Eddie? You technically didn't complete the challenge. But Stan? You're the reason they didn't complete the challenge, so honestly, it could be anyone going home."

It could have been the camp fire, but it looked like Chris had been sweating. It seemed the prospect of making them sweat had cheered him up, however, as he grinned maniacally at them.

"Richie, I heard you made the brownies. Kudos, my man. Best part of Team Two's meal by far. So, you get a marshmallow."

Richie pumped his fist as he walked up and immediately stuffed the marshmallow into his mouth.

"Eddie, you didn't have control of your team," Chris said. It sounded like lead up to something, but he didn't say anything, and Eddie was about to cry. He had ruined everything because he still had trouble trusting others. But then, Chris did continue. "But it seems that doesn't matter. You're safe. Here's your marshmallow."

Chris threw the marshmallow at Eddie's face. He let it fall to the ground as he tried to process what he had just heard.

"I'm sorry. I'm... I'm safe?"

"Yep. Now can you just stand over there by Richie? You're ruining my moment." Chris turned to Stan, although he didn't even attempt to look sad about what he was about to say. "Sorry to bring you back just to send you down the Dock of Shame again, Stan. But it's time to..."

"Walk down the Dock of Shame to never return again, yeah, I know," Stan muttered. "Hey, sorry again that I forgot about you guys. You know I didn't mean to leave you in there."

"Actually, I'm not all that sorry," Stan said with a shrug.

"It's cool, man. All is forgiven," Richie said as he and Eddie gave Stan hugs.

"Of course I forgive Stan," Richie said. "I got to cuddle with Eddie instead of doing the stupid challenge. Uh..." He started spluttering and waving his hands. "Not that I want to cuddle with Eddie. I just care about getting out of work without repercussion."

"I can't believe we knocked Stan out again," Richie said, jogging to catch up with Eddie, who was on a fast track back to the cabins. He threw his arm around Eddie's shoulders and, surprisingly, Eddie found himself letting him. "I felt bad voting for him, but you did come up with our whole meal."

"I'm sure that's the only reason you didn't vote for me," Eddie said, watching Richie out of the corner of his eye. "Well, I would have voted for you. You know I've been waiting for a chance, but I mean, he did lock us in the freezer."

Still hanging around the camp fire, Chris and Chef watched the two campers retreat. Chris leaned over and patted Chef on the back.

"Still think you're going to win?"

"Oh please. Those two are never going to get their [bleep] together."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Ugh, not the 'hook handed man' thing. That's not classic," [Bev] argued. "It's a stupid cliche. What's Jeff going to do? Bother some co-eds making out in a car up on some cliff?"_
> 
> _Richie coughed and nervously looked over to Eddie and then Mike. Because everyone knew that Ben was going to be on Bev's side, duh._
> 
> _"Uh, no."_
> 
> _"That's what he was going to say," Bev whispered to Ben, sending the two of them into a fit of giggles._
> 
> _"See, co-eds are easy pickins. No, Jeff craved more than the kill. He also needed the thrill of the chase. And where better to get that than at the summer camp that he found a few more miles down the road from the farm."_
> 
> _This time, everyone groaned._
> 
> _"That's even worse," Mike said._
> 
> _"You think setting your story at a camp will automatically make it scarier because we're at a camp?" Ben asked, still giggling slightly._

Everyone was sitting around a campfire they had built outside the cabins and were telling stories. At first it had been about their lives back home (because they never got tired of that subject) but as the sun finished setting, Richie insisted they tell ghost stories. Surprisingly, Bev beat him to it, and started telling a story first. Ben followed, and while the stories were leaning on the tame side, Eddie found himself getting closer and closer to Richie.

What?

He wasn't allowed to watch horror movies or read scary books growing up. It wasn't his fault that the simplest ghost story scared him.

That didn't seem to be the case with Richie.

"You guys call these ghost stories?" he asked, once Mike finished his tale.

"Hey, a haunted house story is classic," Mike said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, well, this is how you make a classic terrifying," Richie said and then put on one of his voices he loved to do. He was obviously going for a spooky tone, but his voice was just so husky. Eddie tried to discreetly distance himself. "This story is about a man named Jeff. He had spent the last ten years in a mental institution."

"Richie, that's not cool," Eddie said with a sigh.

"Hey, at least I didn't say 'insane asylum,'" Richie said. "Anyway, ten years is a long time. If he hadn't been unstable when he went in, he was when he finally managed to escape."

"Es-escaped?" Eddie asked. 

His voice may or may not have gone up a pitch or five.

"Oh yeah. Now, he lost his hand climbing out of the window he had broken, but the adrenaline was coursing through him, and the only option was to keep going. He made it to a farm a few miles from the institution and found a hook that he used to replace his hand."

Bev groaned.

"Ugh, not the 'hook handed man' thing. That's not classic," she argued. "It's a stupid cliche. What's Jeff going to do? Bother some co-eds making out in a car up on some cliff?"

Richie coughed and nervously looked over to Eddie and then Mike. Because everyone knew that Ben was going to be on Bev's side, duh.

"Uh, no."

"That's what he was going to say," Bev whispered to Ben, sending the two of them into a fit of giggles.

"See, co-eds are easy pickins. No, Jeff craved more than the kill. He also needed the thrill of the chase. And where better to get that than at the summer camp that he found a few more miles down the road from the farm."

This time, everyone groaned.

"That's even worse," Mike said.

"You think setting your story at a camp will automatically make it scarier because we're at a camp?" Ben asked, still giggling slightly.

"Yeah, right," Eddie said, as if he wasn't already checking over his shoulder.

"It was easy enough to find some of the counselors who were having a few drinks before all the campers arrived the next day. They were sitting around a campfire, much like this one, already getting tipsy. And then there was one counselor who inevitably brought out a guitar and started playing, which didn't help."

"Let me guess," Mike said. "he was playing Kumbaya?"

"Oh please. It's not the 80s pretending to be the 50s. They could be playing something cool like..."

"Pat the Bunny?" Eddie suggested.

"You _do_ pay attention to my music?" Richie asked excitedly.

Bev cleared her throat.

"Uh, Richie? The story?"

"Yeah, anyway. So, Jeff sneaks up behind the counselors and slits their necks one by one. He worked so efficiently that none of them had time to notice... or scream."

If anyone asked, the only reason Eddie shivered was because of the gust of wind that just happened to blow by. And it wasn't like Richie provided much warmth. Because, yes, Eddie _was_ kind of tucked up in his side at that point.

"Their bodies were slumped over, the blood as red as the flames that licked over them."

"Oh, that's some good imagery," Mike admitted.

"Oh yeah, great imagery," Eddie said, grabbing Richie's arm. Then, he thought that he heard a twig snap behind them. He craned his neck toward the sound. "Hey, did you guys hear something?"

"That's not going to work," Ben said.

"No, really. I think I heard something! A twig snapping or something!"

"That's because you most likely did," Chris's voice declared, blaring over the PA system.

Eddie jumped, now practically in Richie's lap.

"I _hate_ when he does that," Bev said.

"Heh heh heh, I know," Chris said. "But, yeah, there's a problem campers. A known killer has escaped from the prison that's on another neighboring island. Yeah, all our neighbor islands are _super_ creepy. But, yeah, he was headed in this direction, so... back to the cabins with all of you!"

"So, we all agree that this is not true, right?" Mike asked.

"It's got to be fake," Bev agreed. "It just so happens the exact same horror movie cliche from Richie's story happens on the island? I don't think so."

"It's your funeral," Chris said in a sing-song voice.

"Maybe we should be safe, just in case?" Eddie asked.

"I guess you could come back to my bunk," Richie said. "So I can totally protect you."

"Oh God, well, I'm not going back then," Bev said. "You two fine with still hanging out a little longer?"

"Yeah! I brought supplies for s'mores," Ben said. "Though we're going to need to find sticks to melt the marshmallows."

"Honestly, I never want to see a marshmallow ever again," Richie said. "Come on, doll face. I'll make sure no killer gets you."

"Okay, I didn't need to hear any of that," Mike said. "I'll go get us sticks, Ben. Be right back, guys."

"We'll keep your stump warm," Bev said.

"Hey, isn't 'I'll be right back' another horror movie cliche?" Ben asked as he started unwrapping the chocolate bars.

Bev laughed.

"Oh, right. Doesn't it mean he won't be coming back? The killer will get him? We'll be stuck with cold s'mores."

Then, suddenly, there was a scream from the woods.

"Oh my God, Chris was right," Bev shouted. "We have to go help him!"

"But that just might be walking right into a trap set by the killer! We need to get weapons first, so we're not totally useless to Mike."

"Where are going to find weapons, though, on the... Oh. Yeah. It's Chris. There's gotta be weapons somewhere on the island. Let's split up and look for some."

"Wait," Ben called after her. "Isn't splitting up another horror movie cliche?"

\----------------------------------------

"Okay, now I know I heard something this time," Eddie said.

He was sitting on the floor despite Richie having tried to get him to join him on the bed. Once he had failed in convincing him, Richie sadly climbed into his bunk and was hanging off the edge, looking forlornly at Eddie every 

"I'm telling you, I haven't heard anything," Richie said, "but we'll be totally safe in here. Don't worry. But, uh, you might feel safer up here with me."

"Jeez Richie, I know what you're trying to do, and I'm not going to fall for it." Richie sighed, and feeling a little bad, Eddie turned toward him and grabbed his hand. "But thanks for trying to calm me down again. You're actually really sweet under all those spikes."

"Pffttt, no I'm not," Richie said.

"You do a bad job at hiding it, then."

God, Eddie had never realized how pretty Richie's eyes were. He found his fingers inching their way to the back of Richie's spiked collar and undid the buckles.

"Uh, what ya doin' there, Eds?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Eddie admitted. "Your neck is really pretty."

"That sounds like something a serial killer would say," Richie said with a nervous laugh.

"Shut up for once Richie." 

Eddie leaned in and left a light kiss on Richie's pulse point. He was just about to move his lips up further, when something banged against the cabin, shaking the walls.

"Okay, now you _can't_ deny..."

"Oh yeah, no. I heard that," Richie said, grabbing his collar and wielding it like a weapon. "So, there might actually be a killer on the island."

"Oh my God, the others! They're outside! If that banging was the killer, he's right on his way to them!"

"Maybe they heard one of the many other noises you heard and finally went back into the other cabin?" Richie asked, hopefully.

But it was too late. Eddie was already up on his feet and running toward the door. Richie scrambled to follow him, tripping several times on the rug.

"Eds, baby, what are you doing? What happened to being scared?"

"Our friends are in danger!" Eddie yelled as he skidded out the door. "And, oh my God, they're not here! Richie, we have to find them."

"You want to go out there after a killer? Eds, they're gone. That's a suicide mission! Who knows where the killer has taken them?"

\----------------------------------------

The killer had put a bag over Mike's head and secured his hands behind his back before leading him through the forest. There was no point in fighting at that moment, so Mike conserved his energy. Horror movies might not have been his preferred choice, but he knew that once they get where they were going, the killer would take off the bag and start his evil villain monologue. _That's_ when he was going to make his move.

He was led up a staircase, and as soon as the door closed behind him, the bag was whipped off his head.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" Mike demanded as he started working on undoing the knots around his wrists.

"Oh, stop," a familiarly gruff voice told him. "You're embarrassing yourself."

"Wait. Chef? Is that you?"

"Yep, the one and only," Chris said, appearing out of nowhere, as he was wont to do. "Chef makes a super convincing serial killer, right? So Mike, welcome to the Camera Room. The fact that you're here means, unfortunately, you've been eliminated from the challenge. The good news is, you get to watch your friends get chased around by a slasher."

Mike sighed.

"You've got to be kidding me. This _was_ another one of your dumb jokes after all?"

"Okay, it's not a joke. It's the challenge. You're lucky it wasn't real or you'd be dead."

"Yeah, whatever. Can you untie me now?"

"Oh yeah. Chef, could you please before you leave?"

Chef groaned and pulled out a knife so he could cut the ropes with a raised eyebrow. Mike carefully backed away once his wrists were free.

"Why do you have a real knife?"

"It's just a bread knife," Chef pointed out as Chris said, "It's for authenticity."

"Oookay," Mike said quietly, putting even more space between him and the two of them. "Well, I don't want to sit here and watch this. Can I just go back to my cabin?"

"And risk the others seeing you and realize this isn't real? I don't think so. We can talk instead, to pass the time, if that makes you feel better. So, what's up with Richie and Eddie? Anything the cameras aren't picking up?"

"Dude, I'm not telling you anything."

"Eh, fair enough."

\----------------------------------------

Ben found a shack not too far from the cabins, and it was full of terrifying weapons. Sure, some of them were actual tools that could be used for island upkeep, but in the weeks that they had been there, he had never seen anyone do _any_ sort of upkeep. So, yeah, it was still pretty terrifying.

Anyway, he grabbed the giant scissor things you use to trim hedges and then went looking for Bev. He still couldn't believe that she would run off like that. Now, Richie and Eddie should be alright in the cabin, and if anyone could hold their own against a killer, it was Mike. Well, okay, Bev could too, and the only reason he really wanted to make sure she was alright was because he had a huge crush on her.

Not like someone as cool as her would ever like him back, but it was awesome enough having her as a friend.

But, if beating the killer in some super bad ass showdown painted him in a good light while Bev witnessed, that would also be awesome.

He tip toed around the island, brandishing the clippers in front of him, keeping his eyes peeled. There was no sigh, however, of Bev or the killer. Or... anyone, really.

"Oh, but this just means this is when the killer jumps out from somewhere," Ben muttered.

And that's when everything went black.

\----------------------------------------

"I should have known that Chris would have a mansion hidden on the island," Bev said.

It had been a little disconcerting that the door had been open, but there had to be something in there she would use as a weapon, so she had gone in and, well. The heavy bust of Chris was as good as a weapon as any, even if it was creepy carrying around his likeness. But then she couldn't bring herself to leave. It was kind of addicting snooping around in his things after he had been messing with them for weeks. It felt like an adequate revenge.

"Honestly, this place is insane," she said to herself. "I'm 90% sure the eyes of one of these paintings are going to start following me or a suit of armor is going to come to life."

Wrong genre, technically, since they hadn't been transported to a Scooby Doo cartoon. But it had been a night for cliches. She made sure to make as little noise as she could, but that didn't do anything to save her from a trap door.

Bev screamed as her feet were knocked out from under her. She started falling down an elaborate slide, the bust clattering behind her. It wasn't a long way down, but it wasn't as if it had brought her anywhere. There _was_ a tunnel that led to the right, though, so she picked up the bust and started crawling through.

Thankfully, it was a straight shot, so she just followed the tunnel all the way to the end, where she fell once again, onto a pile of pillows. Yeah, there was the perfect end to _this_ cliche.

Okay, now she was a little scared. The room she had landed in was covered from floor to ceiling in televisions, and they were showing different parts of the island.

Oh, well, they _were_ on a reality show. That made sense.

"Hi Bev," a void said, and she turned to see Mike sitting at a desk with Chris, the two of them drinking milkshakes.

"Oh my God, Mike! You're alright! Thank God!"

She ran over to give him a hug, but then she froze.

"Wait. This means... [Bleep.] It was a joke all along?"

"Can you guys stop calling the challenges jokes?" Chris asked. "I _do_ have feelings, you know."

Bev put her hands on her hips.

"I don't buy that."

"Uh, well, I do because I'm super angry right now that you stole my bust. Why would you do that?"

"Because I thought there was a psychotic killer on the loose!"

"Whose actually Chef," Mike said.

"Okay, I can see that. He's got the build of Jason, for sure."

"Yeah, and he's got Ben," Chris said, pointing to the monitor. He then turned to the cameraman and put on his host voice. "That leaves it down to Richie and Eddie. Considering it appears they have teamed up, I wonder who's going to win. Money's on Eddie, right?"

"Probably shouldn't word it that way," Mike said. "You know. As the host who doesn't play favorites or anything?"

"I'm not betting on you," Chris said far too quickly.

Mike and Bev shared a skeptical look, but then Chef burst into the room, dragging Ben behind him.

"Bev, are you here? You listen, man. Once my hands are free, you'll be sorry!"

"Oh, that's cute that you think you can save Bev," Chris said, and Ben sighed.

"You can't be serious!"

"Yeah," Mike and Bev said together.

"I can't believe I'm happy to have lost for once," Ben said, the fight draining out of him. "I'm... I'm going to take a nap."

He laid down before Chef could even untie his wrists or take the bag off his head.

"Uh... okay," Chef said. "Well, I'm going to go and 'kill' the other two."

\----------------------------------------

"Okay, so they're literally nowhere to be found," Richie said, eyes darting back and forth. "The killer probably threw them into the ocean, and that means we're next. I say we find those canoes from that other challenge and get the hell out of here."

"We can't leave everyone else here, though," Eddie said. "Would you go running if you thought the killer had me?"

"No, of course not!"

But then the killer jumped out from behind a bush, wielding a knife. Richie screamed and threw his collar at him. It bounced off the killer's chest and landed into the very bush he had been hiding in. Seeing that his plan hadn't worked out, Richie ran behind Eddie.

"What the hell are you doing?" Eddie asked. "You scaredy cat!"

"You're obviously not scared! You can fight him!"

"You traitor!" Eddie yelled as the killer started dragging him away.

"Eds! No!"

"Hey, don't worry," Chris's voice said, coming over the PA system once more. "This means you're won, Richie! Chef, you can let Eddie go."

"Of course it was Chris messing with us," Eddie said. He punched Chef's arm once he had let him down. "Well, I'm going to go... take a shower. Just because I want to and for no other reason."

"Need any company?" Richie asked with a wink as Eddie walked by him.

"Stay away from me. I never want to speak to you again."

"Wait! Doll face?"

"Don't you 'doll face' me."

"I told you," Chef mumbled through his mask.

"There's still a chance they'll get together," came through the speaker.

"Yeah. Sure."

Chef stalked off, passing by the shack that Ben had made a mess of. It was dark enough out that he missed the clown peaking out from the mountain of tools. The clown smiled, eerily, watching the fake killer walk away.

"What is that?" Chris asked the camera. "Ah, who cares? It's time for the Extermination Ceremony."

\----------------------------------------

"Mike, despite 'dying' first, you get a marshmallow. Eddie, as the baddest 'final girl' I've ever seen, you also get one. Bev, you're safe. Now, it's down to Ben and Richie. Ben, you didn't do too bad, but you didn't really kick any butt. Richie, you literally sold out everyone to survive. Well, thankfully everyone realized the right choice for once. Ben, here's your marshmallow."

If Eddie didn't know any better, it looked like Chris was actually crying.

"I'm sorry, Richie. It's time to walk down the Dock of Shame."

"Seriously?"

"I'm tired of people asking variations of that," Chris said, rolling his eyes. "Just get out of here."

Richie's face fell as his hands fisted in the button up shirt he was wearing. He looked betrayed as he watched Chris, but when he turned toward the rest of the contestants, he simply looked sad. Especially when he eyes fell on one particular person.

"Eddie?"

Eddie hid in Bev's side, as she patted his back, and ignored Richie. Eventually, he gave up waiting for Eddie to acknowledge him, and made his way to the Dock of Shame. It was hard, but Eddie knew it was the right thing to do. God, he had been so stupid to have let his heart get in the way of the competition.

"Well, that's all for this week," Chris said. "I, uh, have to go do some favors for Chef, but we'll see you next week on Total... Drama... Island!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eta: noticed some mistakes in this chapter so i fixed those up
> 
> while i'm here, i was so stoked for this challenge i hope i did it some justice considering i did a bit of a different twist with that pennywise cameo lol


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"And a hello to you too, campers," Chris said, jumping out of the tool shed. Used to the jump scares at this point, none of the competitors even flinched. "Whatever. Today you're going to be testing your hunting skills by capturing one of the island's majestic creatures."_
> 
> _"Oh, that sounds safe," Eddie muttered, causing the other three to laugh._
> 
> [...]
> 
> _"How are we supposed to catch these animals?" Bev asked._
> 
> _She looked as if she was about to say more, but she snapped her mouth shut. It would be just their luck that she'd say something sarcastic like 'with our bare hands' and end up giving Chris the idea and then they'd be stuck catching their animals with their bare hands._
> 
> _"That's why we met here at the tool shed. You all have thirty seconds to grab whatever you need. And that thirty seconds starts... now!"_

It turned out Bev was even more ruthless than Mike and Ben at cards and had taken to beating their asses during practically all of their down time. Which meant she moved all of her stuff into their cabin, giving up the opportunity to have the other cabin all to herself. She said that the quiet was getting to her, and yeah. Eddie sure bet it was _really_ quiet without Richie there.

Eddie, on the other hand, had taken to hanging out in the abandoned cabin so he could reflect on what had happened that night and how he felt. Mostly he was just mad how much he actually missed Richie.

"That [bleep] used me as a human shield, and I should totally hate him, but I don't! Something's got to be wrong with me, right?"

"Nothing's wrong with him," Chris told the camera. "Yes, I'm going through the confessionals, but it's not creepy! It's for their own good! Eddie and Richie belong together because it's destiny, or something, and not because I don't think my wallet can take it."

"I _do_ feel sorry for Richie," Mike said, although he didn't look all too sorry. "To win the challenge and still get eliminated has to suck. Buuuuut... with hime gone, Eddie is moping, and he's my biggest competition. This means I might have a chance to send him home, so honestly, I can't complain."

"You know, I'm glad I'm taking the competition much more seriously now," Ben said, laying down the eight of hearts. "Uh, that's 21. But yeah. It's nice to still be here, but it doesn't feel as fun."

"Hey, $50,000 will be fun," Bev pointed out. She laid down the Jack of clubs, and Ben and Mike groaned as she moved her peg. "Alright. Count your cards, boys."

"It _is_ tough to treat challenges as just that," Mike agreed. "If we weren't, I'd be they would actually be fun. Well, almost. If Chris wasn't actively trying to kill us."

Bev and Ben nodded.

"Oh yeah. He's totally trying to kill us."

"Before we deal the next hand, I think we should ask Eddie to play again," Bev said, changing the subject. "He needs to socialize more. Plus, speaking of fun, it'd be fun to play in teams for something different."

"I call Bev for my team," Ben said quickly.

"Maybe we should just leave him alone. Last time, he told me he doesn't understand Cribbage," Mike said. He finished counting his points and smiled when he realized he had caught up to Bev. She was unfortunately quite the card shark. "I took that to mean he doesn't want to learn because, I mean, other than one rule, it's really easy."

Bev sighed.

"It's good for him to have some space, because I know it must be tough for him. He might not admit it, but he obviously has real feelings for Richie. But he shouldn't be alone _all_ the time. He needs human interaction." A cameraman grumpily cleared his throat and Bev rolled her eyes. "Interaction with friends, then, if we must split hairs."

"Omnipresent doesn't make you actually present," Ben joked as he started shuffling the cards, deciding then that they probably wouldn't be asking Eddie to play any time soon.

Before the cameraman could comment on that, however, Chris's voice came blaring over the PA system.

"Attention campers! It's time for your next challenge! Come meet me next to the tool shed. If you're not sure where that is, just ask Ben. He _did_ completely tear the place apart last challenge."

Ben groaned.

"There supposedly was a killer on the loose. I needed a weapon. What else was I supposed to do?"

"Not mess up my tool shed, for one. Anyway, see everyone in five."

"Oh, we gotta get going, then. It's a bit of a walk from the cabins."

Ben dropped the cards onto the table and led Bev and Mike to the tool shed, which he still thought looked more like a rickety shack more than anything else. Eddie had emerged from the other cabin at the same time and was technically following them, but whether consciously or not, he was keeping his distance. It wasn't until they had made it to the tool shed and started waiting for Chris that he said hello to them.

"And a hello to you too, campers," Chris said, jumping out of the tool shed. Used to the jump scares at this point, none of the competitors even flinched. "Whatever. Today you're going to be testing your hunting skills by capturing one of the island's majestic creatures."

"Oh, that sounds safe," Eddie muttered, causing the other three to laugh.

"We'll be deciding which by a simple draw of the straw."

Chris held out his hand with four 'identical' straws and the contestants took turns walking up and choosing one of them. Mike ended up with the smallest and Eddie with the biggest, and so they were a little more apprehensive than Bev and Ben. Especially when Chris started rubbing his hands together. He really kept looking more and more like a cartoon villain every day.

"Well, Mike, you better _hop_ to it, because you'll be hunting a frog."

"Oh, you've got to be kid..."

"Don't finish that sentence," Chris said sternly. "We had enough of that last challenge. Moving forward... Ben, time to take out the _trash_ because with the next straw, that means your challenge is to catch a raccoon."

"But what if I get rabies?"

Chris pointedly ignored the question.

"Bev, I hope that _Bambi_ has never made you cry, because you're going to be hunting a deer."

"Oh, okay. That's not too bad, I guess."

"And Eddie? Sweet, sweet Eddie. I know you lean toward _twinks_..." Eddie started to protest, but Chris kept talking over him. "...but today you're chasing a bear."

"What? There's no way you can make me do that! That's dangerous! Without the proper training, I... I could be killed!"

"Once again, people. Read contracts before signing them. I absolutely _can_ make you do that. You don't catch me a bear, you'll lose the challenge, so you better catch me a bear."

"How are we supposed to catch these animals?" Bev asked.

She looked as if she was about to say more, but she snapped her mouth shut. It would be just their luck that she'd say something sarcastic like 'with our bare hands' and end up giving Chris the idea and then they'd be stuck catching their animals with their bare hands.

"That's why we met here at the tool shed. You all have thirty seconds to grab whatever you need. And that thirty seconds starts... now!"

The four of them ran into the tool shed and started grabbing anything and everything they could get their hands on and seeing if it was even remotely useful. Ben knew his way around the _shack_ , so he quickly found a net and some feed he though he could use as bait, and then he left so that he wouldn't be in everyone else's way.

Mike grabbed a bucket and a few fishing lures and was next to exit the tool shed. Bev hovered next to the one wall that was covered with several dangerous looking tools, clearly torn about hurting a deer in order to win. Eddie just looked lost, head snapping back and forth, desperately searching for something that would be any help in trapping a bear and coming up short.

"Ten seconds left!" Chris yelled.

Bev grabbed the first thing she could and with the last few seconds to help Eddie find a net that had been buried underneath some gardening equipment.

"Hey, do you already regret that decision?" Chris asked as they left the tool shed. "You gave your opposition something much more useful than what you ended up with. Not the smartest move, is it?"

Bev looked down and groaned when she saw that she had grabbed a rake.

Chris laughed.

"This is going to be fun to watch. Alright, there's a cage set up downhill from the campfire. First one to get their animal in there, _alive_ , will win. Your time starts... now!"

And once again, the four contestants went running.

\----------------------------------------

Mike found an area of the forest that was murky and started searching through the puddles for a frog. He didn't have much luck at first, so he set out the fishing lures in a couple of the puddles and then sat back with his bucket. He wasn't wearing a watch, so he couldn't say exactly how much time had passed, but it definitely felt like an eternity before he saw one of the lures start to twitch.

He quietly got up and walked over, holding his bucket at the ready. Once he got closer, he could see a frog, and he said a silent thank you.

Two more steps and he tried to use the bucket to scoop up the frog and --

\-- it hopped away.

"Oh come on, little guy. Do me a favor and get into the bucket. Don't make this any harder than it has to be."

The frog ribbeted and hopped ever farther away.

Mike sighed. 

"This is going to suck."

\----------------------------------------

"I feel like I'm just doing free labor," Bev said to herself as she wandered around the forest and raked leaves as she went along. "Do deer like playing in leaves? Will a pile of leaves help me in any way?"

The weird thing was, since coming to the island, she hadn't' seen many deer. They may be skittish animals, but it wasn't as if they actually avoided humans. Deer crossing signs existed for a reason. They would just dart out in front of cars without a care, so they had no reason being afraid of a few young adults walking around the island. And yet, she had definitely seen more bears than deer around the camp grounds. Not like that was going to make this challenge any easier for Eddie. A net wasn't much going up against the largest wildlife on the island.

She didn't regret giving Eddie the net. She wasn't going to let Chris get inside her head because she didn't need to be cruel, or worse to sabotage another contestant, in order to win. And, well, not like she would admit it to anyone, she didn't think the net would have done her much good, either.

"Well, that's all the leaves in this area," she said, leaning against her trusty rake so she could catch her breath.

She was just about to move on when she heard something rustling. She glanced over to the pile of leaves and gasped quietly when she saw a deer nosing at the leaves.

"Thank you rake," she whispered.

\----------------------------------------

Ben didn't have to travel far once Chris had dismissed them. He made a beeline to the trash cans behind the Mess Hall. He scattered some of the feed he had grabbed from the _shack_ around as extra bait, but cracking open the lids of the trash cans, it was clear that there was a raccoon smorgasbord in there. He hid behind one of the larger cans and held his net open and started waiting for the hungry raccoons to emerge.

The thing was, he hadn't really thought about how it was the middle of the day, and that the raccoons would mostly be sleeping, since they were nocturnal animals.

He sat there so long that before he knew it, he ended up dozing off himself.

\----------------------------------------

"You know, I'm pretty sure I can sue him for discrimination of some kind for this," Eddie told the cameraman tasked with following him around on his hunt. The poor guy was obviously trying not to laugh and failing, considering the microphone picked it up all too clearly. "Sure, maybe I signed away my life and will now get mauled to death by a bear, but they can't say [bleep] like that about my sexuality, right?"

Eddie was too busy complaining that he didn't notice the bear, already right there, sneaking up behind him.

There really were _far_ too many bears on the island to actually be safe for the contestants, and sure even Chris and Chef, to be living there.

"And calling Richie a twink? _Please_. Sure, he's tall and kind of skinny, but he does have that little tummy. Which is pretty cute, when you think about it. Pretty comfy looking, too. Ugh! Not the point!"

If a bear could roll its eyes, the bear behind Eddie would have rolled its eyes.

Instead it moved swiftly past the cameraman before he could warn Eddie, knocked him over mid-rant, and then sat down on top of him.

"What the hell? Hey, you! Stop laughing and help me!"

\----------------------------------------

"Who do you think is going to win?" Chef asked as he cut the hoagie he had made in half. He and Chris had set up a picnic table near the cage with a giant spread and were eagerly awaiting the first contestant to arrive with their animal. "I think it's going to be Mike."

"You know, despite picking up a rake of all things, I think it's going to be Bev."

"Do you want to put your money where your mouth is?" Chef asked before taking a huge bite.

"I don't have any money left," Chris said just as Bev emerged from the woods, raking leaves behind her, the deer following close behind. "Uh, actually..."

Chef blew a raspberry at him, ham and turkey flying everywhere.

"Too late. Missed your chance."

Bev led the deer right into the cage and then stepped out before pulling the door closed.

"Congratulations Bev," Chris said, although it didn't sound like his heart was in it. "You've won the challenge. I'd say you could join us, but that wouldn't really be fair to the other campers."

"But there's more than enough..."

"Yeah, such a shame. Guess you'll just have to wait in the cabin."

With a huff, Bev walked over to the Confessional Toilets just as a muddy but triumphant looking Mike went running into the cage. He dropped the bucket in the middle and then slammed the door behind himself. Just in time, too, because the frog hopped out of the bucket and straight toward the door.

"Ha!" Mike yelled. "You didn't defeat me!"

"Yeah, you really showed that frog," Chris said. "But, yeah, congratulations. You're the second one to capture your animal."

"Oh thank God," Mike said, slumping against the picnic table. "Can I go take a shower now?"

"Yeah, sure. I really don't care what you do as long as you don't eat my food."

"Fantastic."

Mike made his way back to the cabins, and he managed to shower and change, and Bev finished up in the Confessional Toilets, and Chris and Chef finished most of their food, and there still was no sign of Ben and Eddie. The sun set, and the four of them were starting to nod off.

A great clattering caused them to jump in their seats and, at first, none of them could see where the noise had come from. But then a yelp from the cage caught their attention. Ben was inside the cage with the door locked. The deer and frog were watching from one of the corners, wearily. Ben had brought in a least five raccoons, although it was hard to tell exactly how many in the twilight, who were definitely unhappy about being trapped.

"Ben, why did you lock yourself in the cage as well?" Chris asked.

"Well, uh, it may have been like the raccoons chased me in here rather than vice versa," Ben explained. "Uh, anyway... Can someone help me out of here?"

"Eh, just let them all out," Chris said. "Eddie, whether he catches his bear or not, he's still last, so I'd say that's challenge over. Can someone go find him?"

It was nearly morning by the time the crew finally found Eddie and brought him to the campfire. The fire looked almost softer in the early sunlight, and there was a much more positivity in the air than normal. However, it also illuminated Eddie's face and made the bags under his eyes incredibly noticeable. Wherever he had been, it was obvious he hadn't slept.

"What happened?" Mike whispered once Eddie had sat down on his stump.

"A bear sat on my face," Eddie hissed back.

Everyone tried so hard to not laugh, but failed, and Eddie defiantly crossed his arms.

"Oh, thank you for that Eddie," Chris said, wiping a few stray tears from his eye. "Okay, let's get to business. Bev, you won this challenge, so here's your marshmallow. Mike, honestly it was pretty tough having such a small, slippery animal, and you still pulled it off. You're safe. Enjoy the sweet taste of victory."

"Hey," Ben said as Mike walked up to get his marshmallow. "Good luck, Eddie."

'God, he's too nice,' Eddie thought.

"Now, down to the last two. Ben, _you_ were caught by _the raccoons_. But then, Eddie, you didn't catch your animal by the end of the challenge. Is it enough to send you to the Dock of Shame?"

Here Chris paused for dramatic effect, as was usual. Eddie thought it was pointless. He just knew...

"Eddie, I'm sorry, but you've been eliminated. Ben, you can come get your marshmallow."

"I'm sorry," Ben said.

"Thanks Ben, but it's alright. I should be saying thanks to everyone for the experience."

"Okay. Stop being sappy," Chris groaned as he waved his hand in the direction of the beach. "To the Dock of Shame with you."

Eddie said a quick goodbye to Bev, Ben, and Mike and then went to the cabin to pack his bags. The boat was waiting for him when he got to the dock, so he decided to refuse dragging it all out and boarded immediately. He watched the island disappear as they sped off, and so he didn't notice until about an hour into the journey that...

"We're not headed to the main land."

"Oh no," the captain said. "You're not going home just yet."

"Wait. What?" Eddie yelled.

\----------------------------------------

Chris laughed as he looked into the camera.

"Well, now it's down to the final three. The competition is getting tough, so perhaps it's time we take a bit of a break. Join us next week for a very special episode of Total... Drama... Island!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i'm pretty sure this will clock in at eight chapters so i did change that but then again we shall see
> 
> also if you're one of the readers who hasn't watched total drama island (which omg thank you for sticking with this silly crossover then!) hope you enjoy that very random sudden cliffhanger at the end!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Today, we'll be talking to our dearly departed campers and asking them how they feel about a variety of topics," [Chris] said loudly, and Eddie fell off of his lawn chair and nearly rolled into the Jacuzzi. "This includes the challenges, how they felt about being eliminated, and of course, who they think should win Total Drama Island. So let's get started!"_
> 
> _"Where did_ he _come from?" Eddie grumbled, as the cameraman got right up in his face. He shoved at his shoulder so that he could stand up and get back onto his chair. He folded his arms and glared at the cameraman until he finally scared him into swiveling around and focusing on the guys in the Jacuzzi instead. "I thought being brought here meant that I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore."_
> 
> _Chris laughed, his head falling back._
> 
> _"Now why would you think that?" he asked._

"Welcome to a very special episode of Total Drama Island," Chris said. He was facing the camera, starting the episode the usual way, but his surroundings were vastly different. He was on a beach, so an island, but it didn't seem to be the one the contestants were on. This beach was actually nice, for starters. "Today we're taking a trip to another one of our neighboring islands... the Extermination Island! Wonder what happens to the campers once their voted off? Do they get to go home to their family and friends who I'm sure they missed? Of course not! We thought they deserved some well earned fun after all those grueling challenges. So we send them here to Extermination Island! Follow me and let's go see how everyone is doing!"

He waved at the cameraman to follow as he headed up the beach. Thankfully the editing team didn't allow the audience to suffer by forcing them to watch Chris walk the entire way and the scene transitioned to a cozy outdoor space behind a adequately sized mansion. Richie, Stan, and Bill were relaxing in a Jacuzzi while Eddie was lounging on a lawn chair, although _he_ looked the farthest thing from relaxed. he had his sunglasses slid down his nose so he could glare at the others, and he appeared to be two seconds away from lecturing them about how many germs could be living in that water.

And, well, then there was Henry hiding in the trees that divided the mansion from the wilderness of the island.

Chris popped out of the back door of the mansion and gestured to the eliminated contestants.

"Today, we'll be talking to our dearly departed campers and asking them how they feel about a variety of topics," he said loudly, and Eddie fell off of his lawn chair and nearly rolled into the Jacuzzi. "This includes the challenges, how they felt about being eliminated, and of course, who they think should win Total Drama Island. So let's get started!"

"Where did _he_ come from?" Eddie grumbled, as the cameraman got right up in his face. He shoved at his shoulder so that he could stand up and get back onto his chair. He folded his arms and glared at the cameraman until he finally scared him into swiveling around and focusing on the guys in the Jacuzzi instead. "I thought being brought here meant that I wouldn't have to deal with him anymore."

Chris laughed, his head falling back.

"Now why would you think that?" he asked.

"Can you just ask the questions so we can get back to paradise?" Richie countered. He moved his arms up onto the ground around the Jacuzzi and leaned back, looking as comfortable as one could be. "Like, you gave us a literal paradise, which thanks for that, but I can't exactly relax if you're here bothering me."

"You are all so mean to me, as if I'm not the one who's going to be giving you guys $50,000. Anyway, that's a good segue-way. Did any of you feel as if the challenges were worth the prize money? Or were they too intense?"

"Of course we thought they were too intense," Stan said. "You made us stay up for days straight!"

"Oh boo hoo," Richie said, pretending to rub his eyes as if he was crying. "You had to stay awake and then you got brought back for a cooking challenge. So hard. Try facing your greatest fear on television."

"Oh, you can't throw that one at me, considering that it didn't even really bother you. You weirdo."

"Well, you can let those two bicker or we can move on," Eddie said. Everyone, including Henry who was still hiding in the trees, turned to give him a judging stare. "Okay, so me and Richie could bicker forever, too. Anyway, to answer Chris's question, I feel like while the challenges were tough, that _is_ the point of the show. Is $50,000 worth it if you didn't work for it?"

"Uh, yeah," Richie and Stan both said at the same time.

"Whatever. You two are so lazy. Don't you ever want to do something to better yourselves?"

"I mean, I guess there's some things that might make me want to better myself," Richie whispered so none of the other contestants heard him. 

Naturally, however, the boom microphone picked it up perfectly. Chris shared a knowing look with the camera, and perhaps somewhere on the other island, Chef was cursing the skies.

"I'm with Eddie," Bill said. "I signed up the for show to do something different and push myself. And, well, the $50,000 was a nice incentive too. But it really did become about pushing myself, because it was tough being away from my family. Especially my brother. Which everyone saw, obviously, in the fear challenge. I'm sad that I let my feelings get away from me, but now I know next time how to handle it better."

"Well, thank you for that Bill," Chris said, and he actually sounded sincere. "That was very touching. I don't think that anyone is going to be able to top that, so how about we move on? What was your favorite challenge?"

Everyone silently stared at Chris.

"Alright. Fine, we won't answer that one, then. Let's try another sensitive topic. How did everyone feel about being eliminated? Perhaps we could hear from someone different. Henry! You were the first one eliminated. How did that feel?"

"God, don't remind us that homophobic piece of shit is here with us," Richie said.

"Yeah, we finally bullied him enough that he stays _far_ away from us," Eddie added.

"Please don't tell me he's been living in the woods this whole time," Chris said. "Or, well, once Stan was eliminated."

"Eh, I hate him, but I let him stay in his room in the mansion," Stan said with a shrug. "It was big enough when it was just the two of us."

"You guys are always ragging on me for torturing you, but here you all are torturing Henry."

"I don't want to be spending time with them anyway," Henry shouted from the trees. "I don't need a fancy mansion. I know how to live off the land. I'm thriving out here."

"Stop trying to make it seem like it was a choice to become a mountain man," Richie shouted back. 

"Okay, okay. I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I need you all to calm down," Chris said. " This isn't the kind of fighting that I enjoy, and I doubt our viewers will enjoy it either. I agree Henry is a weird guy, and I don't want to talk about him anymore. Sorry Henry."

"Whatever," he mumbled and then disappeared into the forest. 

"So, campers, other than driving Henry to become an even worse Henry David Thoreau, what have you been up to since you came to Elimination Island?"

"Well, it goes without saying, but a lot of time spent in the Jacuzzi and the indoor pool," Richie said. "I realized that I actually really love being in the water. Although this tan is going to clash against all my black once I get back home."

"Without as many camera crews here, the wildlife isn't hiding," Stan said. "I've been able to get in some bird sighting, which has been great. That's a big hobby of mine back home, and I missed being able to do that. I thought on the island I'd be able to in down time, but it was hard when there was so much noise scaring all the wildlife away. I've been able to spot a couple of species that I haven't seen before, which is amazing."

"I've been enjoying nature as well," Bill added. "There's a lot of trails on this island, so I've been going for hikes. Sometimes with Stan along. There's a lot of arcade games in the basement of the mansion, so me and Richie have been playing Street Fighter. He's leagues better than me, but it's still tons of fun. And then there's a a built in movie theater, so I've been introducing Eddie to a lot of my favorite movies that he hasn't seen yet."

"Wow. You're just a regular people pleaser, aren't you?" Chris asked.

"I _do_ tend to get along with everyone."

"Dude, Bill even tried to be nice to Henry," Richie said. "Like, I respect the effort, but thank God he realized that was a dumb idea."

"It would have helped if you told me what he had said to you and Eddie! I wouldn't have tried! I just thought he was grumpy."

"Speaking of grumpy, what else have you been up to Eddie?"

"Oh, not much."

"Don't sell yourself short, short stack," Richie said, cutting off whatever dumb joke Chris was about to make. "This guy has gone around and fixed pretty much every machine in the mansion. And, like, if it wasn't broken, he just went and made it better. The central air now can be temperature controlled in each of our rooms. So, for someone like me who runs hot... I can have it blasting, and poor little dollface, who is like an icicle, won't freeze over in his room."

"Don't you dare call me dollface," Eddie said, his voice as cold as ice.

"Oh, he's definitely an icicle," Chris said to the camera. "It looks like you two haven't made up yet. Has there been a discussion about what happened before Richie was eliminated?"

"Absolutely not. I don't want to talk to him ever again," Eddie insisted as Richie said, "God, I wish."

"Wait. You _do_ want to talk about what happened?" Eddie asked.

Richie threw his arms up in the air, droplets of water flying and getting Chris wet.

"Of course! I thought I had made it pretty damn obvious that I was crazy for you!"

"Well, then you should think about your apology, because it better be [bleep] good. I'm still furious about what you did, and I think if you actually did care about me, you wouldn't have used me as a [bleep] human shield."

"Okay. Sounds like this discussion is going to happen, which is great. But I don't care to witness it. I just want to know the outcome." Chris started stuttering. "Not that, uh, I have, um, an invested interest in you two making up."

Stan rolled his eyes.

"Unfortunately, we're _all_ too invested in the two of them making up. It's obvious they'd be great together and we won't know peace and quiet until they get over themselves."

"I'd appreciate it, _Stanley_ , if you didn't talk about me and Eddie as if we aren't here," Richie said, although there wasn't that much heat behind his words. It was obvious that they had a similar conversation in the past. "Anyway, me and Eddie aren't exactly the romance of the show or anything."

"Yeah, stop focusing on us when Ben's crush on Bev was just as annoying as all of Richie's bad pet names," Eddie said.

"That was nowhere near as annoying," Bill argued. "It was sweet."

"Oh, and don't think I hadn't noticed how you and Mike had something going on, too."

"Oh yeah," Richie said in a sing-song voice. "Let's talk about Mike."

"What about me and Mike?" Bill asked, but he was definitely blushing.

"Wait a minute. We had three romances happening on the island?" Chris asked. "I would have noticed that. How did I _not_ notice that? I literally have cameras everywhere watching you all."

"There wasn't three romances, though," Bill said. "There wasn't anything going on between me and Mike. We just hung out sometimes in down time when Ben wasn't playing cards with him. Which was almost all the time, anyway, so it wasn't _that_ often."

"They _do_ play cards a lot," Eddie said. "After you guys all got eliminated, they roped Bev into it as well, and they started playing all these complicated games and everything. I think that became more of a competition to them than the actual competition."

"Okay, but I'm not going to give them $50,000 for a game of Go Fish," Chris said.

He actually seemed almost offended that the contestants would get invested in a card game when they were supposed to be fighting each other in the challenges. He should have realized from Day One that they had formed a friendship and that the entire competition was done all in good faith between each of them. Of course they all wanted to be awarded the prize and be crowned the winner, but they weren't about to stab each other in the back in order to get it.

"Eh, I don't know man," Richie said, shrugging. "I would totally watch a reality show about some people playing Go Fish."

"Nobody asked you. Anyway, it's time for some one-on-one questions before we ask the biggie that I'm sure all our viewers are excited to learn. Which of course is, who all of you think should win Total Drama Island!"

\----------------------------------------

Eddie was seated in one of the many generic living rooms inside of the mansion. Despite being on a couch that was at least five times larger than he was, he was all the way on the edge of the cushion, and he still looked the farthest thing from relaxed. Then again, having someone basically interrogate you would put most people on edge. Both literally and figuratively.

"Do we really have to talk about Richie again?" he asked the cameraman.

Because of course that had been the first thing he had asked Eddie.

"We just talked about that outside. What more is there to say? That I have been waiting for Richie to apologize to me since I got to this island? That I am so close to forgiving him even if he _doesn't_ apologize because I like him that much? That I can't stop thinking about how I didn't even get to properly kiss him before we were about to die? Well, not _actually_ die, thankfully."

Eddie sighed and finally flopped back on the couch.

"Honestly, I've been going crazy with all the swimming he's been doing. The guy walks around shirtless 24/7. I would say he was doing it on purpose, but he does seem a little beaten down by the fact that I was angry at him. He probably isn't thinking about anything other than actual exercise, and here I am being a creep and checking him out. And God, I can't believe I'm saying all of this, because he's going to go back and watch this and I'm going to be so embarrassed. Even if everything between us does work out."

"It'll be sweet to show the grand kids," the cameraman said, and Eddie picked up one of the pillows and launched it at his head, nearly missing the extremely expensive camera.

\----------------------------------------

"I know I [bleep] up with Eddie," Richie said, slightly breathless.

The camerawoman who as interviewing him had tried to get him to join her in the kitchen, but instead of putting some clothes on, Richie just led her to the pool and hopped in. He had swam a few laps instead of answering her questions about Eddie right away.

"Yeah, I _know_ I [bleep] up with Eddie, but it's hard to admit it to him, you know? Which then, realizing how hard it is for me to apologize to him, makes me question if I'm ready to get into a relationship with him. You should be able to apologize to your partner, you know? Like, yeah, I'm immature, but that's just super immature."

"Well, admitting that is a step in the right direction, right?" the camerawoman asked.

"I guess. And I know that all I have to do is say those two little words. I'm sorry. How easy is that? So maybe I'll get there eventually, but the fact that I'm taking so long just... Eddie deserves someone better. I'm kind of a no good punk, in case you hadn't noticed."

\----------------------------------------

"I'm not going to talk about Richie and Eddie's nonsense," Stan said glaring at Chris. "First off, why did I get stuck with you? Couldn't you have followed one of your favorites instead? Secondly, why separate us if you're just going to keep talking about the Richie and Eddie show? No, screw that. Ask me about how awesome my cooking skills were during the dinner challenge."

"Okay," Chris said with a sigh. "Tell me about your awesome cooking skills then."

Stan was quiet for a second.

"Okay, so I don't really have awesome cooking skills, but I'm not talking about Richie and Eddie. Let me tell you about some of the birds I've seen on Elimination Island."

\----------------------------------------

"Unfortunately, we have no footage of Bill's individual interview because we found out later that he took the cameraman to the arcade games he mentioned earlier, and they got into a very dedicated House of Dead game," Chris said, addressing the camera. "I hope they had a fun time since they ruined it for the rest of us. I really thought that as the leader, Bill might have some insight into everything."

\----------------------------------------

"Alright, now it's time for the question that is on everyone's mind," Chris said. He and the contestants were back outside. The sun was starting to set, and they had set up around a camp fire and were nursing mugs of hot chocolate. "Who do you all think is going to win Total Drama Island?"

Richie looked like he was about to blurt out his answer, but Chris held up his finger, effectively silencing him.

"Actually, that seems a little too much like picking favorites."

"As if you don't pick favorites all the time," Stan whispered under his breath.

"Anyway, let's do this instead. Who do you think should be eliminated next? Does that sound fairer?"

"Not really. Like, either way, you're having us judge our fellow competitors," Richie admitted. "Can't I just say that I want Mike to win?"

"Oh, that's one vote for Mike to be eliminated," Chris said.

"What?" Richie yelled.

"You can't just take what Richie said about Mike out of context and say that's a vote for elimination," Stan said.

"And another vote."

"God, you really are such a dick," Eddie said. "Mike doesn't deserve this."

"And a third."

"Oh my God, you guys," Bill yelled. "Just stop saying Mike's name."

Everyone stared at him.

"Wow. I can't believe it was unanimous," Chris said. "Well, other than Henry, but I suppose we're not going to count a mountain man's vote. Not like it's going to make a difference at this point. We have four votes for Mike, which is still the majority. It's time for him to join you all on Elimination Island."

The camera cut to an incredibly confused Mike being escorted off of Total Drama Island. It panned to Chris, who had returned himself from Elimination Island. He waved to Mike as he was practically pushed onto the ship.

"Now it's down to the final two," he said, addressing the camera once more. "Ben and Bev will battle it out for the $50,000 next time in the finale of our competition. So don't forget to tune in to the exciting conclusion of Total... Drama... Island!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so sorry that it took this long to get the next chapter up! life has been incredibly hectic i moved officially a week ago! so it was all stressing about packing and everything before that and once we actually got into the new place and everything unpacked, it took a couple days before we got internet hooked up so yeah i hadn't even had a chance to write and the last thing i wanted to write in my notebook when i _did_ have downtime was something silly
> 
> i obviously hadn't meant to stop updating this and so i'm soooo sorry i left you on a cliffhanger if you haven't seen the show and knew what was coming lol
> 
> but it's finally here! thank you so much if you came back to read this after all this time despite everything! it means so much to me!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"Well, as you can see, we've built a little obstacle course here on the island. Sure, you've tackled one of these before, but that was nothing compared to this beast that we've prepared for you. [..] [I]f you make it through all of that alive and cross the finish line, you get the $50,000 and are crowned the winner of Total... Drama... Island!"_
> 
> _"Please God, let that be the last time we have to hear him say the title of the show that way," Eddie said._
> 
> _Mike laughed in agreement, resting his head on Eddie's shoulder as he shook. Richie glared at the two of them from the other bleachers as he crossed his arms._
> 
> _"Anyway, let's get to it then."_

It wasn't often that you could describe the island as peaceful, but that morning it looked as if it were an idyllic painting. The sun was rising above the water and lighting up the trees beautifully, and with the camera crews taking a break, the wildlife was emerging from their hiding spots. Birds were singing loudly above deer that were grazing near the cabins.

Ben stood near the window, his hands wrapped around a mug of Chef's God awful coffee, as he let the scene calmly wash over him. He knew that in a mere hour or two, the island would be alive once more, as the crew got everything ready for the big finale. Until then, he was going to enjoy the view as if it were a painting. It _was_ so calming that he was worried that he was going to fall asleep on his feet, and Chef's coffee definitely wasn't doing much to wake him up. In fact, he should probably dump the rest of it. He could just see it upsetting his stomach right in the middle of... whatever _torture_ Chris had in store for them.

He was just about to return to the Mess Hall when he heard Bev waking up behind him.

"Oh, hey, good morning," he said quietly as Bev stretched his arms far above her head and yawned.

"Good morning. You ready for the big day?"

"About as ready as I can be," Ben said. He knew he had told himself that he was going to have more confidence in himself, but this was the grand finale they were talking about. Bev was incredibly strong competition, and that was before you took into account that he had a massive crush on her. She was going to absolutely smoke him. And even if he put in everything he had, he still knew that he wasn't on the same level as, say, Eddie or Mike. He was still surprised that both of them had been eliminated. Although Mike's elimination was still bogus, and that was weighing on him. He wouldn't have been here if the others hadn't accidentally voted him off. Chris had gleefully told him and Bev what had happened the day before when he came to deliver the news that the finale was going to be the following afternoon. "What about you? One day to mentally prepare yourself. Was that enough for you?"

Bev laughed softly and rolled out of her bunk.

"I mean, at least we _got_ a day. There were times Chris literally dragged us out of these beds and threw us right into the challenge, so at least he was 'considerate' enough to let us prepare for the grand finale. Because I think that's kinda important, don't you?"

"That's all true, but none of that sounded like a 'yes' to me," Ben joked.

Bev walked over to him and playfully shoved his shoulder.

"No, I'm scared. Is that what you want to hear? Eddie had to capture _a bear_ at one point. Imagine what the $50,000 deciding challenge could be?" She paused for a moment and then frowned. "No, I don't want to imagine what it could be. One last game of Cribbage before we head to our doom?"

"Sounds like a plan," Ben said and threw back the rest of his coffee. As Bev was shuffling the deck of cards, ear shattering banging started up outside. Ben pushed the curtains aside once more and peered outside. "Looks like they're building another obstacle course."

"That doesn't sound so bad, but knowing them, this one will have, like, a pool of alligators we have to swing over or something."

"That sounds about right," Ben muttered, and then he cut the deck.

\----------------------------------------

"We're finally here," Chris said loudly. Behind him there were two small sets of bleachers set up and in front of him was a generic white banner that said 'Staring Line' stretched out between two poles. He gestured to the set up as he said, "This is the grande finale of Total Drama Island! We started out with eight campers. Through a series of challenges they were eliminated until we were left with our final two, Bev and Ben. And to cheer them on today we have the eliminated contestants. Why don't you guys come on out?"

"Come out from where?" Stan asked.

The camera panned over and showed the six of them standing there.

"It's a little something called movie magic," Chris mumbled. He clapped loudly, and Eddie and Bill jumped. "Anyway, now that you're all here, it's time to greet our finalists. Bev and Ben, would you join us?"

Funny enough, Ben and Bev hadn't been standing off to the side, so they all stood there twiddling their thumbs as the two finalists joined them.

"Nice of you guys to finally join us," Chris said. "Nerves getting to you?"

"Of course not," Bev said as Ben admitted, "Oh, yeah. Just a little bit."

"I bet you're all super excited to see everyone that you beat out in order to get to this point."

Chris said it sarcastically, but he and the crew and all of the viewers knew by now that the campers were all close. Bev and Ben ran over and started hugging everyone. Well, everyone except for Henry. Honestly, they were surprised to find that he had left the forest and joined the others onto the ship that was headed back to Total Drama Island. Probably just so that he could have real food after weeks of eating acorns.

Though, could Chef's food be considered real food? Eh, after weeks of acorns, sure.

"Okay. That's enough hugging," Chris said, separating Bev and Bill. "You got your reunion. Now it's time to get started. As you can see, we have set up seats here for you so you can watch Bev and Ben fight it out. There's two sides, however, for each of our campers. I want you all to pick your seats based on who you're rooting for to win the finale. Now, before you all make your decisions, I'll give Bev and Ben a chance to convince you why you should root for them. Ben, if you win, what are you going to do with the $50,000?"

"Well, uh, everyone knows already. We've all discussed what we wanted to do if we won. But, uh, I guess I can reiterate, I plan to start my own architect firm so I can stop interning."

Chris yawned.

"That's so boring. You're supposed to be convincing them with some incentives or something."

"But that's literally what all of us were planning to do if we won," Bev pointed out. "Well, except Richie."

"Yeah!" Richie yelled. "At least say you'll throw a huge party and invite all of us after all of this."

Bev shrugged.

"Okay, fine. I'll take most of the money for my clothing line, but then use the rest to throw us all a huge party."

Richie started cheering and walked over to the bleachers set up on Bev's side. Eddie rolled his eyes and walked over to Ben's side in retaliation. The rest of them split up randomly, because of course it was hard for them to actually pick sides, and they knew that Bev and Ben were aware that they were all happy for both of them for making it as far as they had. Mike sat down next to Eddie while Stan and Bill joined Richie. And then Henry sat down on the ground in between the bleachers. Somehow he had gotten his hands on a chicken leg and was gnawing on it.

Chef had joined Chris and the two of them were eyeing all of the contestants and judging their seating choices.

"Looks like you're going to lose that bet," Chef taunted. "Eddie didn't even pick based on who he's rooting for. He just wanted to be as far away from Richie as possible."

" _None_ of them chose basked on who they're rooting for," Chris pointed out. "They're all soft. It's rather disappointing that they are and yet somehow they still haven't hooked up. Besides, I don't know why you're sounding so smug. Bev and Ben haven't gotten together either, and I doubt they will be. You know, considering that they're up against each other in the finale. That doesn't exactly spark romance, don't you think?"

"You set up all of them 'accidentally' voting off Mike, didn't you?" Chef asked with a growl. "You knew there was no way they'd vote him off, and it was going to be him against either Bev and Ben, and that way, they'd get together. You are an..."

"Yeah, I know. Go ahead and say it. Although it'll get bleeped out."

Chris winked at the camera.

"Genius. I was going to say evil genius. Don't get me wrong. I'm angry with you, because I totally would have won the Bev and Ben part of our bet if you hadn't meddled, but I have to admit that I'm impressed that you thought of that."

"Why, thank you Chef. So, you want to just call it even, then? We both lost in the end, so is that not the same as us both winning?"

"Oh, I'm not ready to quit yet. The game still technically isn't over."

"That, uh, that is true," Chris said and cleared this throat. He easily switched back into hosting mode and said, "Alright campers. It's time for the last challenge. The challenge that will determine who is going home with $50,000. You ready to find out what that challenge is?"

"About as ready as I can be," Ben answered, echoing his sentiment from earlier that morning.

"Oh yeah, that's the spirit," Chris said. "Well, as you can see, we've built a little obstacle course here on the island. Sure, you've tackled one of these before, but that was nothing compared to this beast that we've prepared for you. First you'll have to run all the way up the top of the mountain and then climb the tree that's right near the edge. At the top of that tree you'll find an eagle's nest where there are two eggs. You'll each take one and gently carry it across the ravine between the two mountain peaks. Unfortunately, the only thing separating you and falling to your death is a tight rope, so I hope you both have perfect balance. Once you've made it to the other side, you'll then have to run back down the mountain and head toward the finish line. And please keep in mind, you'll still be carrying the eagle's egg and will have to keep it from breaking during all of this. Oh, and did I mention that the mother eagle is super protective of her unborn offspring? So you'll probably be fighting her off, as well, while you run the course. Now, if you make it through all of that alive and cross the finish line, you get the $50,000 and are crowned the winner of Total... Drama... Island!"

"Please God, let that be the last time we have to hear him say the title of the show that way," Eddie said.

Mike laughed in agreement, resting his head on Eddie's shoulder as he shook. Richie glared at the two of them from the other bleachers as he crossed his arms.

"Anyway, let's get to it then," Chris said, trying to hide his disappointment. "Bev and Ben, take your positions. On your marks... get set... GO!"

Bev and Ben went running, breaking through the white banner, sending it floating toward the bleachers. Eddie sighed before getting up so he could pick up the two pieces and carry them to the trash can outside of the Mess Hall. As he did, the rest of the contestants watched as Bev took the lead over Ben, although both of them were moving relatively fast toward the base of the mountain. However, once they started ascending, both of their paces slowed down. None of the other challenges had required the contestants to go up the mountain, so none of them had since that first day. They may be fitter due to the physical activity on the island, but running uphill required different muscles than running through the forest.

"Don't worry, you guys can still do it!" Mike shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice.

"Yeah," Stan agreed. "Just keep pushing through it!"

"Yeah, go Bev! Go Ben!" Bill cheered.

"You can't cheer for both of them!" Chris scolded him. "This is supposed to be a competition! Not a best friends club."

"Well, if it's a competition, why would we even be cheering for either of them, then?" Richie asked. "We should just be upset that we lost ourselves, right?"

"Shut up, loser."

"Yep. That's us right here." Richie pointed at his chest with his thumb. "The losers club."

"I like the sound of that," Mike said, smiling.

"Well, the obstacle course will still make for good television," Chris said. "Let's see how Bev and Ben are faring making their way up the mountain with our eye in the sky."

The camera cut to an areal shot, showing that Bev and Ben were about halfway up the mountain, although Bev had regained her lead, if only by a dozen or so feet. The cameraman zoomed in, and you could see that Ben was panting slightly, but he was definitely taking Stan's advice and pushing himself. Bev's face was turning red and was close to matching her hair, but other than that, it looked as if she wasn't even breaking a sweat.

"They're almost to the top!" Chris announced. "But _that_ was the easy part. Once they get their eagle eggs, all the _real_ fun is going to begin."

"Is the mother eagle actually going to try and attack them?" Eddie asked.

Everyone turned to Stan who looked far too overjoyed to be able to answer that question, considering his friend's were in danger because...

"Oh yes, they're extremely protective. She'll definitely be lunging at them and trying to get the eggs back."

"While they're... trying to balance... on a tight rope," Richie said, his frown deepening as he spoke. "God, I'm so happy this dumb show is almost over and we're all free."

"Who said you guys were going to be rid of me once the show ends?" Chris said, causing everyone to start freaking out. He effectively ignored them, however, because Bev and Ben had both made it to the tree at almost the same time. "Looks like Ben has caught up! Now he and Bev will have to fight over who goes up the tree first."

The rest of the contestants pulled out binoculars so they could watch and let out a collective sigh of relief.

"They're going up at the same time, just on opposite sides of the trunk," Mike reported.

"What? How is that fun?" Chris said with a huff, placing his hand on his hip. "If they keep up this ridiculous 'working together' crap, we're going to have a tie. And, once again, where's the fun in that? Also, I don't even know if we have something in place to do if there's a tie. And _another_ thing, where did you all get those binoculars and why don't I have one?"

"There's _way_ too much to unpack there," Stan said, "but I'm going to start with how you said one more thing and said two more things."

Bill placed a placating hand on Stan's shoulder and told Chris, "We found them in the mansion. The place is pretty well stoked with all kinds of stuff."

"Oh my agent is hearing about this," Chris muttered under his breath. "My mansion doesn't have binoculars on it."

"Hey, guys, Ben is pulling ahead of Bev!" Mike shouted. He pointed toward the top of the mountain, as if that helped those (ahem Chris) that didn't have binoculars. "Fair and square, of course, but yeah. He's taking a lead. He's in the branches and looking for the eagle's nest."

That seemed to cheer Chris up a little bit, although he was still pouting over the fact that he didn't have binoculars and was forced to rely on the contestants to know what was happening with the race. He snapped his fingers in some poor interns face in order to get their attention and started demanding that they find him his own pair of binoculars.

"Well, at least we still have an actual race going on, then."

"Oh wait. Bev's up there too, and she's found the egg!" Bill yelled and started cheering, Stan and Richie joining in with him, shouting variations of 'Go Bev!' as Eddie and Mike urged Ben on.

"You do realize they can't hear you," Chris said with a sneer. The intern skidded to a stop in front of him, pushing the binoculars they had found into his hands. "And they don't need your cheering because it looks like Ben has also found the nest as well! Now it's time for them to concentrate on the most perilous part of the challenge."

\----------------------------------------

Up on the mountain, Bev was jumping down the branches in an attempt to move faster. She knew that once she had taken the egg from the eagle's nest, she essentially had a giant target on her back. She was more concerned about finishing the obstacle course as quickly as possible due to that rather than wanting to win over Ben. She knew that if he were to win, the money would be put to a good use. They both deserved a shot at their dream careers.

Neither of them deserved to be pecked to death by an angry eagle, however. So she cradled the egg in the crook of her arm and held her breath each time she leapt down to the next one. But then she got to the last branch which was still a good ten or so feet above the ground. She was going to have to climb down, but she wasn't sure how she was going to do so while keeping the egg safe.

And then it hit her.

She sat down on the branch, legs swinging on each side, so she could steady herself as much as possible and then tucked the egg into the front of her overalls without much trouble. Now that she had both of her hands free, she climbed down easily and made her way over to the edge of the mountain where the two tight ropes were set up. One of the many cameramen that had been following them for the past few months was waiting, picking up every pant as she tried to catch her breath. He looked far too gleeful to be there to film her precarious journey across the tight rope, but then again, he must have been waiting since they started the obstacle course. There wasn't exactly much to do on top of the mountain while waiting, considering they had hardly filmed up there.

Still...

"Doesn't Chris treat you guys pretty terribly, too?" Bev asked. "Where's the solidarity?"

The cameraman shrugged.

"I mean, it's great when you're not the one being forced to walk a tight rope."

"You're the kind of person who thinks America's Funniest Home Videos is high comedy," Bev mumbled to herself as she double checked to make sure the eagle's egg was safely in her overalls.

It was as good as it was going to get, so she took a deep breath, and she took the first step.

\----------------------------------------

Ben may not have been the fastest out of all of the competitors, but his arm strength definitely was up there along with Mike's. Sure, nowadays he was the one who drew up the plans for the buildings, but he did his time on site. He made it up the tree in no time, which hadn't been his concern. No, he was worried about finding the eagle's egg and how he was going to get it back down the tree in one piece. He was pulling branches aside gently, looking for the nest, when he saw Bev join him on the other side. She waved and then quietly cried out in triumph. Ah, of course the nest would be on the other side of the tree.

Once Bev had started hopping down, Ben maneuvered himself over to the other side and grabbed the other eagle egg.

And then he sort of just sat there and stared at it.

If he had known what the challenge was going to be, he would have come prepared, but of course that's not how Total Drama Island worked. Instead, he had a few pockets thanks to the cargo shorts he had been wearing in the heat of the summer, but many pockets didn't equal big enough pockets to stick an eagle's egg into.

Knowing that he had already wasted far too much time debating if he could stuff the egg into the pocket that ran down past his knee, he tucked the egg under his chin and hoped for the best. Climbing down was always a little more difficult than the climb up, but he had made it down relatively quickly and then rushed over to the edge of the mountain where the tight ropes were set up. He removed the egg from its precarious position and was able to look up and see that Bev had made it about a third of the way across. The cameraman that was there was so focused on filming her, but he did turn around for a moment to show that Ben had arrived. Only for a second, though, and then he was back to watching Bev like a hawk.

(Although Ben supposed an eagle could work in this case as well. They _also_ had sharp eyes, right?)

"That doesn't look too bad," Ben observed, watching Bev. She was moving slowly but surely, making sure to not trip up. But she also had a perfect spot to keep her eagle's egg. Ben couldn't possibly keep it tucked under his chin like he had before and be able to cross the tight rope. He'd be stuck... "Looking straight down."

Well, now he was frozen to that spot, it would seem.

\----------------------------------------

"Come on Ben! You can do it!" the others shouted, their voices following Eddie as he disappeared under the bleachers.

With Richie hot on his heels.

"Why are you leading me here?" he asked, fiddling nervously with the spikes on his collar. "Are you taking me somewhere dark and quiet so you can kill me? Because, like, I'm pretty sure that you could have done that right in front of all of the others and they wouldn't have minded. In fact, they probably would have helped you. Everyone is on your side." His eyes got wide and he quickly added, "As they should be! I was in the wrong!"

"Well, it might have been nice if you would have admitted that when I first arrived on Elimination Island," Eddie said, resting his hands on his hips. "Or any of the time after that while we were all hanging out. You know, instead of refusing to spend time alone with me and running away when you noticed that none of the others were around."

"I was scared! Is that what you want to hear? I know you won't forgive me, and I totally get that. What I did was unforgivable. I was about to sacrifice you in order to save myself. You deserve better than that."

"Oh, I absolutely _do_ deserve better than that," Eddie said with a chuckle. "But don't I have a say in what I want? Even if it is the dumb punk boy?"

"Of course you do, Eds," Richie said. And then it hit him what the last part Eddie had said was. "Wait. You want me? Even after everything?"

Now Eddie was full on laughing as he shook his head.

"God help me, but I do."

Richie finally stopped looking like he was a second away from jumping out of his skin. He clearly was still treading lightly considering he was keeping his distance, but he put on a brave face, as in the leer that he usually directed at Eddie.

"Well, uh, if it wasn't obvious... I want you too doll face."

"It wasn't actually obvious at first. I _did_ think it was all strategy, but recently, yeah. You're disgustingly obvious. I just... I guess I can't be mad at you, because I was scared to make a move too. But I'm not scared now."

Eddie took the few steps so that he could reach out and grab Richie's hand, where it was still playing with his choker. He kept Richie's hand in his left as he unbuckled the choker with his right. He leaned in and left a small kiss where the buckle had dug into the skin.

"You really have something about my neck, don't you?" Richie asked. "You haven't even given me a proper kiss yet. You keep going for the pulse point. Are you secretly a vampire?"

"Shouldn't you be excited at the possibility that I am?" Eddie asked, because he couldn't help but tease Richie, but he realized that he was right.

Sure, there had been boyfriends in the past, but he had never been with them long enough to exactly notice a pattern. Once he had admitted to himself that he liked Richie, he had just assumed that the whole 'neck thing' was because Richie always covered his with the choker, but perhaps he _did_ just have a thing for necks in general. He wasn't going to let it bother him. There was _way_ weirder things he could be into.

Still, he should probably give Richie a real kiss.

"I'm a punk, not a goth," Richie pointed out, but Eddie cut off any further complaints with his lips.

Well, he tried to. For a moment, Richie kept trying to talk despite being kissed, but soon enough he melted into it. His hands came up and cradled Eddie's head while Eddie let himself trace his fingers up and down Richie's neck. When they pulled apart, Richie's face was bright red, which was probably the most color the punk had gotten the entire summer. Of course Eddie thought he was cute even when he was pale, but the difference made him realize that he just thought Richie was cute no matter what. And with that realization, he had to place a gentle kiss on each of Richie's cheeks.

"Don't think this means that I'm not still mad at you, though," he said. "I brought you under the bleachers because high school movies taught me we'd have privacy here and not because I wanted to kill you, but you definitely will be working on making things up to me. Maybe you can start by taking me on a date once the show is officially over."

Richie's eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Anything for you sweet cheeks."

The two of them emerged from under the bleachers to rejoin the others, who had abandoned all pretenses of 'picking a side' and were standing down on the grass as they cheered both Bev and Ben on. Eddie and Richie stood next to Bill, hands still clasped together, and immediately started cheering as loudly as they could.

Chris took one look at them, smiled evilly as he tapped Chef on the shoulder, and then wordlessly held out his hand. Chef sighed as he pulled out his wallet and handed over a wad of bills.

"You'll just be handing that back over to me, though, when Bev and Ben cross that finish line," he muttered, just loud enough for one of the microphones to pick it up.

"No one cares about your dumb bets you've been making on us," Stan said. "Bev just made it across the tight rope and Ben is only a few steps away from finishing as well!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Chris said instinctively. "But yes! Our two finalists are finally making progress. I must say, I'm a little disappointed they made it across the tight ropes so easily, but I doubt Mama Eagle will be silent for much longer."

\----------------------------------------

Ben breathed out a sigh of relief once his feet were back on solid ground. That had definitely been the most nerve wracking thing he had ever done, but there was no time to dwell on the situation, nor to get his bearings. Bev had taken the lead up in the tree and had steadily kept it. If there was ever a time to push himself, it was now.

He tucked the eagle's egg under his arm, whispered "$50,000" to himself, and then started running.

Between the run to the mountain, ascending it, and then climbing up and down the tree, he was honestly running on fumes. He knew he wasn't moving that fast, but it appeared that Bev was in the same boat. He managed to catch up with her as they entered the last mile of the obstacle course.

"Hi Ben," she said, panting slightly. "How you feeling?"

"I don't think I'm going to be able to walk for the next couple of weeks, but that won't really matter when I win the money."

"Oh, you're feeling confident," Bev said with a smile. "Good for you."

"What about you? Feeling like you can beat me?"

"I'm definitely going to try."

That last word ended in a cry, though. Ben looked over and saw that the mother eagle had finally made an appearance and had swooped down in an attempt to snatch the egg from her overalls.

"Hey!" Ben shouted. "Leave her alone!"

The eagle continued to peck at Bev's hair, the curls getting stuck in her talons. Bev swatted at her with her hands, at least managing to free her hair, but the eagle refused to fly away.

"I don't think yelling is going to work. I think we just have to focus on getting to the finish line so we can ditch the eggs."

"I mean, we could always say screw it to the obstacle course. Or, I can say screw it. I'll throw my egg and distract her so you can run across the finish line."

"Oh, that doesn't sound very sporting," Bev said.

She almost sounded disappointed, which Ben found to be impressive, with the eagle still swooping down toward her every once in awhile.

"Yeah, I guess you do have a point. Who would want to win when it wasn't fair and square, right?"

Bev smiled.

"Right. So, let's just finish this obstacle course and see who wins fair and square."

A mile had never seemed longer, trying to push through his legs aching and the eagle trying to attack them, but Ben was more determined than ever to finish. 

He almost couldn't believe it -- he had made it this far! He was in the finale of Total Drama Island! He had signed up on a whim thinking that he wouldn't make it very far, but that it was worth a shot if it meant he wouldn't have to work intern positions anymore. And now here he was.

The eagle tried to snatch the egg out from under his arm, but Ben sped up and she narrowly missed. He kept up that speed as he passed Bev and ran over the finish line. He couldn't hear himself think over the sounds of the rest of the contestants cheering, but he had known exactly what he was going to do as soon as Bev suggested they finish the obstacle course together. He waved his egg around, hoping he'd catch the eagle's attention, before he set it safely down onto the ground. By then, Bev had also crossed the finish line, and seeing what Ben was doing, she pulled her egg out of her overalls and set it down next to his. The eagle thankfully left the two of them alone as she scooped the eggs up and flew away.

Only then did Chris walk over to them and slung his arm around Ben's shoulder.

"Congratulations Ben! You just won the obstacle course which means you won Total Drama Island and $50,000. How do you feel, buddy?"

"Like I'm about to pass out," Ben answered truthfully.

Stan and Mike started laughing while Bill pushed Chris aside so he could pull Ben into a real hug.

"Hey, is there any one else who would like to hug Ben now that he's won?" Chef asked. "Bev, perhaps. Or Ben could hug her. As consolation."

"Forget it, Chef," Chris said with his signature grin. "The obstacle course is over and therefore the show is over. I win. You lose."

Chef grunted but cut his loses, walking away from the celebrations.

"Hey, where's Chef going?" Mike asked. "He was just as part of this entire experience as any of us. He should be here."

"Oh, he was just going to... get a cake! For everyone! Yeah, make this a real celebration." Chris nodded, happy with the lie he had managed to pull out of his ass. "Well, you guys keep on celebrating. I have a giant check to bring for Ben. That's it for us here from Total Drama Island. Thanks for watching and tune in for our next show, where our contestants will face similar challenges but in a whole new setting."

"Is he seriously already planning the next show?" Stan asked, rolling his eyes.

"Uh, duh," Chris answered. The cameras had been turned off for the last time, and the host had no qualms pulling out a celebratory cigar from his shirt pocket. As he lit it up, he smiled smugly at the contestants. "Once again, I reiterate that you should have read your contracts. We've known the whole time what your next show was going to be?"

" _Our_ next show?" everyone screamed at the same time.

\----------------------------------------

"I can't believe we were tricked into signing a two show deal," Eddie mumbled as he finally joined the rest of the contestants in their quarters.

He had taken much longer than the rest of them to put away his bags when they had boarded the ship and everyone had gotten tired of waiting around for him. Well, except for Richie, but Eddie had insisted that he go ahead, sit down, and relax. Now, Eddie easily slipped into the seat next to him and rested his head on his shoulder.

"I can't believe that the prize money has been raised to a million dollars," Bev said. "I may have lost this last one, but I'm definitely going to be winning this time."

"Oh, nice try Red," Richie said. "That prize money is me and Eddie's. We'll be able to buy a mansion that rival's the one on Elimination Island that way."

"You seriously think we're going to move in together already?" Eddie scoffed. "Nice try, punk. You still have to take me on a proper date and make up for handing me over to a serial killer."

"That was Chef!"

Stan rolled his eyes.

"You know, I think they're going to be more unbearable now that they're together."

"Oh, absolutely," Bill agreed.

"I vote we just ignore them," Mike added.

"Well, they're still invited," Ben said. "Obviously we know what I'm using the bulk of my prize money for, but once we get to dry land, I'm going to take you guys out!"

Stan, Bill, and Mike started talking over each other about what a true friend Ben was. Bev was smiling fondly at them and despite his sharp words, Eddie snuggled in closer to Richie.

"You know, I don't think I'm going to mind spending another couple of months with everyone," he said, although it was only loud enough for Richie to hear. "Even with Chris putting us through all those crazy challenges, everyone managed to stay so optimistic and it just made for a great environment to make friends for life."

"And boyfriends, I hope," Richie said, leaning down to leave a kiss on the top of Eddie's head.

"Yeah, and boyfriends."

"Yes!" Richie cheered and pumped his fist. "Well, as long as it's official, then bring it on Chris! I can take on anything now!"

\----------------------------------------

**Tune in next September for the premiere of Total Drama Action!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i will **not** actually be writing them doing total drama action this never was supposed to be this long lol


End file.
